- Video View campaigns optimize for views at a target CPV and serve your ads across In-Stream, In-Feed and Shorts.
- Video Reach campaigns aim to reach as many unique users as possible. In Google's tests, combining In-Stream, In-Feed and Shorts delivered an average of 54% more reach at a 42% lower CPM.
- Demand Gen has replaced Video Action campaigns: no new ones could be created after April 2025, and the last were migrated by April 2026.
- All three campaign types are only as good as your creatives and your conversion tracking.
On YouTube, a strong video alone doesn't deliver results. Finding the right mix of format, bid and frequency for every user is no longer realistic with individual campaign settings: Shorts, In-Stream and In-Feed, smartphone and TV each need a different answer, and user behavior changes faster than any setting can keep up with.
Google's response is three campaign types where Google AI handles delivery: Video View Campaigns (VVC), Video Reach Campaigns (VRC) and Demand Gen. In this article, we explain how they work, what we use each one for and how together they cover the journey from first touchpoint to purchase.
Google AI handles delivery; you set the goal and supply the assets
In search, a keyword matches a query. That logic doesn't apply to video and discovery formats, where intent and context are what matter. So Google AI analyzes signals in real time to predict whether a user is receptive to your message at that moment:
- Past behavior: What did the user recently watch and search for?
- Context: Are they relaxing in front of the living-room TV or swiping through Shorts on the go?
- Device: How does this user typically respond on a smartphone versus a computer?
All three campaign types put these signals to work for your business goals. But they call for a different division of labor: your job shifts from adjusting individual bids to managing goals, data and creatives.
Video View campaigns get more views from your budget
Video View campaigns target the consideration stage. Their job is to get people to actually watch your story.
How Video View campaigns work
Google is moving existing TrueView campaigns for In-Stream and In-Feed with a consideration goal into Video View campaigns. Bidding uses target CPV: you set the average amount you want to pay per view. Individual views may cost more or less.
Their strength is combining multiple formats. Multi-format ads are on by default, and Google recommends using all three inventory types:
- Skippable In-Stream ads for longer stories before, during or after other videos.
- In-Feed ads where users search and browse for content.
- Shorts ads for short, vertical moments.
What counts as a view depends on the format. For In-Stream, the user has to watch at least 30 seconds (or the full ad if it's shorter) or interact with the ad. For In-Feed, a thumbnail click or at least 10 seconds of autoplay counts. For Shorts, it's 10 seconds of playback or a click on the call to action, a like, a comment or a share. Since October 2025, Google Ads has called this metric “TrueView views”; billing hasn't changed.
When we use Video View campaigns
We use them when prospects need more than a quick impression:
- Product launches where features need explaining.
- Brand stories designed to build a connection with your brand.
Views aren't the goal in themselves. We judge Video View campaigns by whether viewers go on to search for your brand, come back and buy. Our article on measuring the success of YouTube advertising explains how we track this.
Video Reach campaigns put your brand in front of as many people as possible
When the goal is awareness, we use Video Reach campaigns. What matters here is exposure: reaching as many unique users as possible for your budget. Watch time is secondary.
Choose between reach, full message delivery and frequency
- Efficient reach: Google AI reaches as many unique users as possible at low cost, using short bumper ads, skippable In-Stream ads or both. With multi-format ads enabled, In-Feed and Shorts are added. It's a fast way to build awareness for a new brand or offer.
- Non-skippable reach: Your message plays in full, which makes it a strong format, especially on TV screens.
- Target frequency: You set how often the same people should see your ad per week or month, for example three times a week. Google adjusts bids to hit that frequency without wasting budget on unnecessary extra impressions.
More formats mean more reach per euro
Google AI spreads impressions across formats and devices: a short ad on a smartphone in the morning, the longer cut on a TV in the evening. Google's own tests from Q3 2023 show it pays off: Video Reach campaigns using In-Stream, In-Feed and Shorts delivered an average of 54% more reach at a 42% lower CPM than In-Stream-only campaigns.
Our recommendation: run efficient reach continuously to keep your brand top of mind. During peak sales periods like Black Friday, we switch to target frequency so your message reaches the right people often enough.
Demand Gen turns attention into inquiries and sales
Demand Gen is the successor to Discovery ads and bridges the gap between social media and Google's inventory. Unlike the two video campaign types, Demand Gen is built for results: purchases, inquiries, conversions.
Demand Gen has replaced Video Action campaigns
No new Video Action campaigns could be created after April 2025. From July 2025, Google automatically migrated existing campaigns to Demand Gen, with the last ones moved by April 2026. If you want to bid for conversions on YouTube today, Demand Gen is the way to do it.
Demand Gen reaches users where they discover new things
Purchase decisions rarely follow a straight line. People discover a product in their YouTube feed, search for it later or see an offer in Gmail. Demand Gen covers exactly these touchpoints: YouTube (Shorts, In-Stream and In-Feed), Discover, Gmail and now the Display Network, too. Our article on Demand Gen covers channels, formats and product feeds in detail.
Lookalike segments find users similar to your customers
Google has extensive first-party data from Search and YouTube. In Demand Gen, you build lookalike segments from your own data, such as a buyer list. Google then finds users who behave similarly. You control how close the match is: narrow means very similar users and less reach; broad means more reach with less similarity.
Demand Gen tests your creatives for you
Demand Gen needs strong visuals. Google combines your images, videos and logos into different variations and learns which combination of image and copy works best for which audience.
Your creatives decide where your ads can run
Google AI can only serve what you give it. In practice, this is where most video campaigns fall short: a single landscape TV spot only reaches part of the inventory and feels out of place in the Shorts feed.
We check every creative on three points:
- Clarity in the first few seconds: Is your product or brand instantly recognizable?
- Formats: Do you have 9:16 portrait versions for Shorts, 1:1 square for feeds and 16:9 landscape for In-Stream?
- Works without sound: Do captions and text overlays carry the message with the sound off?
For Demand Gen and Video View campaigns, we recommend at least three video versions with different openings, plus five images. Google tests the combinations faster than separate test campaigns ever could and shifts budget to the variations that perform.
Our checklist for whether your account is ready
Before we launch Video View, Video Reach or Demand Gen campaigns, these requirements have to be in place. Without them, Google AI doesn't have the data it needs to learn.
| Prerequisite | What we check | Why it matters |
|---|---|---|
| Conversion tracking | Enhanced conversions on, values assigned | Google only learns from the results you report |
| Format variety | At least one video each in 16:9, 9:16 and 1:1 | Without portrait video, you have nothing suitable for Shorts |
| Duration | Several weeks without major changes | The learning phase needs data; early changes reset it |
| First-party data | Customer lists uploaded | The foundation for lookalike segments |
| Budget | Daily budget well above the target CPA | Budgets that are too small generate too few conversions to learn from |
The first point matters most. We don't spend any budget until measurement is right. And because revenue without margin isn't success, we pass back conversion values that reflect your contribution margin wherever possible. Our guide to conversion tracking in Google Ads shows how.
Conclusion: we manage goals and assets, Google AI handles delivery
With Video View, Video Reach and Demand Gen, Google AI takes over the fine-tuning of bids, formats and placements. That's not bad news. It moves the work to where it makes the biggest difference:
- Structure: Which campaign type does which job, from awareness to purchase?
- Creatives: Does Google AI have thumb-stopping assets for every format?
- Goals and data: Does your account report the results that actually drive your profit?
Evaluate the campaign types by their respective goal, for example reach, video views or qualified conversions. We measure what each campaign contributes to your results and shift the budget to where it has the greatest effect.
