In the evolving landscape of Google Ads, Demand Gen campaigns represent a structural shift away from purely reactive advertising. Traditionally, advertisers relied heavily on Search campaigns to capture users actively typing queries. That model still works — but it only captures existing demand. Demand Gen campaigns are designed to create and influence demand before a user searches.
They function as Google’s “social-style” campaign type, combining immersive visuals, audience intelligence and AI-driven optimisation across some of Google’s most scrollable environments. For brands seeking scalable growth beyond keyword harvesting, Demand Gen has become a core component of full-funnel strategy in 2026.
What Are Demand Gen Campaigns?
Demand Gen campaigns are AI-powered, visually led campaign types that evolved from Discovery campaigns and absorbed functionality from Video Action Campaigns. Rather than focusing on keyword intent, they rely on audience signals and behavioural modelling to proactively place ads in front of users during browsing moments.
Instead of waiting for someone to search, Demand Gen pushes your brand into feeds such as YouTube, Google Discover and Gmail. The strategic purpose is to stimulate interest, shape intent and guide users towards eventual conversion.
This approach is particularly powerful in industries where visual storytelling influences purchasing decisions — including fashion, travel, ecommerce, SaaS and premium consumer services.
Where Demand Gen Ads Appear
Demand Gen campaigns operate across Google’s most engagement-focused surfaces, reaching up to three billion monthly users.
YouTube (Including Shorts)
Ads appear within YouTube Home feeds, in-stream placements and the rapidly expanding Shorts environment. Shorts, with its vertical 9:16 format, has become one of the highest-engagement placements within Google’s ecosystem. Creative must capture attention within the first two to three seconds.
Channel-level controls introduced in recent updates allow advertisers to tailor ad groups specifically for Shorts or in-feed placements, improving creative alignment with format.
Google Discover
Google Discover is the personalised content feed available on the Google app and mobile homepage. Users browse Discover based on interests, behavioural signals and engagement history. Ads appear natively within this feed, blending with editorial-style content.
Discover placements are particularly effective for mid-funnel consideration and product-led storytelling.
Gmail Promotions and Social Tabs
Within Gmail, Demand Gen ads appear in the Promotions and Social tabs. When clicked, they expand into an interactive email-style unit, functioning like a micro landing page within the inbox.
This placement is highly effective for retargeting, product launches and urgency-driven campaigns.
Google Display Network (2025/2026 Expansion)
A significant recent expansion includes Google Display inventory. Demand Gen campaigns can now extend across millions of partner websites and apps, broadening reach while maintaining unified AI optimisation.
Demand Gen vs Search Campaigns
Search campaigns capture declared intent. A user types a keyword, and the auction determines which ad appears.
Demand Gen campaigns operate on predicted intent. They analyse behavioural data, interests and engagement signals to identify users statistically likely to convert — even if they have not yet searched.
In strategic terms, Search captures demand. Demand Gen shapes demand.
Performance Max blends channels to scale demand.
Understanding these distinctions is critical when structuring budget allocation.
| Aspect | Search Campaigns | Demand Gen Campaigns |
|---|---|---|
| Intent Type | Declared intent | Predicted intent |
| Trigger Mechanism | User types a keyword into Google | AI analyses behavioural data, interests and engagement signals |
| User Behaviour | Actively searching for a solution | Browsing, scrolling or consuming content |
| Strategic Role | Captures existing demand | Shapes and stimulates future demand |
| Targeting Method | Keyword-based targeting | Audience-based targeting and modelling |
| Position in Funnel | Lower-funnel / high intent | Mid to upper-funnel / consideration stage |
Demand Gen vs Performance Max (PMax)
Although both campaign types rely heavily on automation, they serve different strategic roles.
| Feature | Demand Gen | Performance Max (PMax) |
|---|---|---|
| Primary Goal | Create demand and build consideration | Capture conversions and scale revenue |
| Placements | YouTube, Discover, Gmail, Display | Search, Shopping, Display, YouTube, Maps |
| Targeting | Audience-focused | Intent-focused with broad automation |
| Control | Higher creative and audience control | Lower placement transparency |
Creative Formats and Specifications
Demand Gen campaigns are creative-led. Performance is heavily influenced by asset quality. Supported formats include:
- Single image ads
- Carousel ads (up to 10 cards)
- Short-form and long-form video
- Product feed integrations
Image Ads: Aspect ratios supported include 1.91:1, 1:1, 4:5 and 9:16. Maximum file size is typically 5MB. These ads work well for product highlights and lifestyle imagery.
Carousel Ads
Carousels allow up to 10 cards, enabling storytelling, product collections or step-by-step journeys. They are effective for e-commerce and educational content.
Video Ads
Video length can exceed five seconds, with Shorts supporting up to 60 seconds. Aspect ratios include 16:9, 1:1 and 9:16. Video is the highest-engagement format and should prioritise strong hooks within the first three seconds.
Best practice involves uploading a mix of assets — ideally up to 20 images and five videos — allowing Google’s AI to test combinations across placements.
Audience Targeting: From Boundaries to Signals
Modern Google Ads targeting has evolved from strict constraints to probabilistic modelling.
Demand Gen allows targeting via:
- Customer Match lists
- Website remarketing audiences
- Custom segments (keyword or URL-based)
- Lookalike segments (2%, 5%, 10% expansion)
- In-market and affinity audiences
- YouTube engagement audiences
Lookalike Segments
Upload high-value customer data, and Google identifies similar behavioural profiles. You can choose narrow expansion (2%) for precision or broader expansion (10%) for scale.
Data quality directly influences performance. Uploading low-quality leads will train the AI towards undesirable outcomes.
Optimised Targeting
When enabled, Google expands beyond manually selected audiences to find statistically likely converters. While this reduces manual control, it often improves efficiency by uncovering hidden segments.
Bidding Strategies and Conversion Requirements
Demand Gen supports:
- Maximise Conversions
- Target CPA
- Maximise Conversion Value
- Target ROAS
- Maximise Clicks
To unlock advanced value-based bidding such as Target ROAS, campaigns typically require at least 50 conversions with value in the previous 35 days, including 10 within the last 7 days.
Accurate conversion tracking is essential. Advanced advertisers integrate CRM systems and offline conversion tracking to feed revenue data back into Google Ads, significantly improving optimisation quality.
The Full Funnel Domination Framework
A strategic approach involves aligning placements with funnel stages.
Top of Funnel (Awareness)
Channel focus: YouTube, especially Shorts
Goal: Reach and engagement
Creative: Short vertical videos with strong hooks
Billing model: CPM-driven impressions
Middle of Funnel (Consideration)
Channel focus: Discover and Gmail
Goal: Build trust and product understanding
Creative: Carousel ads, lifestyle imagery, benefit-driven messaging
Billing model: CPC-driven clicks
Bottom of Funnel (Conversion)
Channel focus: Gmail retargeting and cross-surface remarketing
Goal: Drive final action
Creative: Urgency messaging, personalised offers
Billing model: CPC optimisation towards CPA or ROAS
This structure ensures messaging and creative align with user psychology at each stage.
Measurement and Attribution Considerations
Demand Gen often influences assisted conversions rather than last-click outcomes.
- Measurement should include:
- Data-driven attribution
- View-through conversions
- Brand search uplift
- Search lift studies
- Engagement metrics
Google data suggests Demand Gen can generate approximately 9% uplift in branded search demand. Without multi-touch attribution modelling, this incremental impact may be underreported.
Performance Benchmarks and Industry Data
A Nielsen meta-analysis indicated Demand Gen campaigns can deliver 58% higher ROAS compared to legacy Video Action Campaigns. Beta tests have reported up to 3x higher CTR and 61% lower CPA compared to previous Discovery formats.
While results vary by industry and data quality, early adopters across ecommerce and services report 20–30% lower CPAs compared to traditional Display campaigns when creative quality is high.
Best Practices for 2026
- Prioritise vertical video formats (9:16) for Shorts.
- Refresh creatives every 4–6 weeks to avoid fatigue.
- Use strong first-party data to improve modelling accuracy.
- Monitor asset performance ratings within Google Ads.
- Consider linking Google Merchant Center feeds for shoppable placements.
- Budget at least £40–£50 per day initially to provide sufficient learning data.
- Evaluate performance using blended funnel metrics rather than strict last-click comparisons.
Limitations and Risks
Demand Gen does not provide keyword-level intent targeting.
Performance depends heavily on creative quality.
Learning phases require stability; frequent budget changes can disrupt optimisation.
Placement transparency is lower compared to traditional Display campaigns.
Campaigns without sufficient conversion data may struggle to scale efficiently.
When Should You Use Demand Gen?
Demand Gen is particularly effective when:
- You possess strong creative assets.
- You have meaningful first-party audience data.
- You want to expand beyond search-driven acquisition.
- Your industry benefits from visual storytelling.
It is less suitable if:
- Conversion tracking maturity is low.
- Audience lists are extremely small.
- Immediate, high-intent acquisition is the only objective.
Strategic Integration with Other Campaign Types
A modern full-funnel approach often includes:
- YouTube engagement campaigns to build awareness.
- Demand Gen to nurture and retarget engaged users.
- Search campaigns to capture high-intent queries.
- Performance Max to scale revenue.
This layered ecosystem ensures demand is both created and captured, improving overall account efficiency.
The Strategic Shift in Google Advertising
Google Ads is increasingly AI-driven. Manual controls continue to diminish while machine learning models prioritise probabilistic signals. Demand Gen reflects Google’s broader transition towards feed-based, visually immersive environments that mirror social platforms while retaining performance-driven optimisation.
For growth-focused advertisers, the opportunity lies not in replacing Search but in expanding influence across earlier decision stages.
Demand Gen Tips
Demand Gen campaigns are designed to proactively build interest and influence buying decisions before users actively search. Unlike traditional keyword-driven campaigns, they rely on audience signals, creative strength and AI optimisation across YouTube, Discover, Gmail and Display placements. To maximise performance, advertisers must combine strong creative execution, high-quality first-party data and structured measurement.
Creative & Asset Strategy
1. Use a mix of videos and images – Combining formats improves reach and engagement across placements. Videos capture attention on YouTube and Shorts, while images perform well in Discover and Gmail.
2. Provide high-quality, varied assets – Upload multiple asset types (images, videos, carousels) so Google’s AI can optimise combinations and placements effectively.
3. Achieve an “Excellent” Ad Strength rating – Ensuring diverse headlines, descriptions, visuals and videos helps maximise performance and delivery.
4. Refresh creatives regularly – Feed environments fatigue faster than search ads; update visuals every 4–6 weeks to maintain engagement.
Targeting & Audiences
5. Leverage first-party data aggressively – Upload email lists for Customer Match and use lookalike segments to scale reach to similar prospects.
6. Build precise custom segments – Include keywords, URLs and app behaviours to refine targeting beyond basic demographic filters.
7. Use remarketing and prospecting strategically – Start with separate remarketing and prospecting campaigns to avoid mixing objectives and maintain clear performance signals.
8. Consider optimised targeting – Let Google’s AI expand beyond manual audiences when appropriate, but monitor to avoid irrelevant placements.
Bidding & Optimisation
9. Align bidding with objectives – Use Target CPA for cost efficiency, Target ROAS for return focus, or Maximise Clicks for traffic objectives.
10. Experiment with bid strategies – Use Google’s custom experiments to test different bidding approaches and see what drives the best outcomes.
11. Let campaigns run through the learning phase – Avoid frequent budget shifts early on; allow 30+ days for machine learning to stabilise.
Campaign Structure & Measurement
12. Consolidate campaigns initially – A single campaign with multiple ad groups helps Google learn faster and simplifies optimisation.
13. Segment by placement – Split into YouTube Shorts, In-Stream and Display ad groups to understand performance by surface.
14. Monitor multiple metrics – Track view-through conversions, click engagement, and asset performance ratings, not just last-click conversions.
15. Plan for expanded Display inventory – With Google Display Network now part of Demand Gen, consider its impact on reach and creative requirements.
Strategic Considerations
16. Start with a clear campaign goal – Choose one objective (e.g. new customers, traffic or reach) before launching to avoid mixed signals.
17. Invest in brand-safe environments – Focus delivery on owned surfaces (YouTube, Discover) rather than third-party video partners for quality control.
18. Use Demand Gen to shape intent, not just capture it – Treat it as part of a broader ecosystem alongside Search and Performance Max for full-funnel growth.
Final Thoughts
Demand Gen campaigns represent a meaningful evolution in Google Ads strategy. They enable advertisers to shape buyer intent, reach audiences across high-engagement surfaces and leverage AI-driven optimisation grounded in first-party data.
When integrated into a structured full-funnel framework — supported by high-quality creative and accurate conversion tracking — Demand Gen can drive incremental growth, improve brand visibility and strengthen long-term acquisition efficiency.
In a competitive digital environment where capturing existing demand is no longer sufficient, Demand Gen offers a scalable mechanism for influencing who enters the auction in the first place.
Confidence Level: High. Based on Google Ads functionality and documented Demand Gen campaign behaviour as of 2026.