Demand Gen campaigns are the Google Ads campaign type for reaching people before they search. They run image and video ads across YouTube, Shorts, Discover, Gmail and, as of 2026, the Google Display Network, with lookalike audiences and a buying flow that feels closer to paid social than to Search.
The short answer: use Demand Gen when you want new customers from visual placements and you have creative in several shapes. Use Performance Max when you want Google to chase conversions everywhere, Search included.
I used to be sceptical of paid. I still think organic builds the audience, but paid accelerates it, and Demand Gen is the Google tool built for that job. This guide sits alongside our guide to advertising on YouTube, which covers the wider campaign menu.
The short version
- Demand Gen is for creating demand. It finds people who are not searching yet.
- Fix conversion tracking first. The campaign learns from the data you send it.
- Seed lookalikes with real customers. Then exclude them when growth is the goal.
- Make every shape. Horizontal, vertical and square, 10 to 60 seconds.
- Judge it on lift. Last click reports undervalue new customer campaigns.
What are Demand Gen campaigns?
Demand Gen replaced Discovery campaigns and absorbed Video action campaigns. Google's help centre describes it as a campaign that captures engagement and action across YouTube (including Shorts), Discover, Gmail, Maps and the Google Display Network.
Display is the big 2026 change. Google began a phased migration tool in June 2026 that moves Display campaigns into Demand Gen, with up to 42 days of performance history carried across. Later, new Display campaigns can only be created inside Demand Gen, per Google's migration guide. If you still run standalone Display, plan the move now.
In plain terms, demand gen campaigns meaning in Google Ads is simple: visual ads, audience led targeting, and AI that picks which asset to show where.
When should you use Demand Gen instead of Performance Max?
Both run on Google AI. The difference is control. Performance Max spreads budget across every Google channel, Search included. Demand Gen keeps you on visual inventory and lets you choose audiences, channels and creative tests directly.
Choose Demand Gen when the brief is new customers, when you have strong video, or when you want to test creative cleanly. Keep Search or Performance Max for people already looking for you. If you are weighing the split, our piece on brand vs performance marketing sets out the budget logic.
How to run demand gen campaigns step by step
Seven steps, in the order that saves the most wasted spend.
1. Fix your conversion data before you spend
Demand Gen learns from the conversions you send it. Google's setup guidance asks you to install the Google tag, confirm it fires and pick a conversion counting option that suits the campaign.
Start with a lighter conversion such as add to basket or a lead form view if purchases are rare. Google says advertisers who strengthened their data with Google Tag Gateway saw over 20 percent more conversions on average in Demand Gen, per its October 2026 Demand Gen Drop. That is Google's own internal analysis, so treat it as a direction, not a forecast.
2. Choose one goal and a matching bid strategy
Pick a single job for the campaign. Demand Gen supports bidding for clicks, conversions or conversion value, according to Google's comparison of Search, Performance Max and Demand Gen.
If you use Target CPA, Google recommends a daily budget of at least ten times that target.
3. Build audiences from your own customers
Lookalike segments are the heart of the campaign type. Seed them with past purchasers, site visitors or people who watched your YouTube channel, then add custom segments built from the searches and sites your buyers use.
Exclude existing customers when the goal is growth. That one change is what Zoopla credits for stronger incremental lift in the example below.
4. Set channel controls for the creative you actually have
By default a campaign can serve across YouTube in stream, in feed and Shorts, plus Discover, Gmail and the Google Display Network. Channel controls let you narrow that list.
If you only have vertical creator footage, you can run on YouTube Shorts alone rather than forcing it into a landscape slot. Widen the channel list once you have assets for every shape.
5. Produce assets in every ratio Google asks for
Google's Demand Gen specs page recommends three videos each in horizontal, vertical and square, ideally 10 to 60 seconds long, plus horizontal, square and vertical images. The table below is the quick reference.
If production is the bottleneck, Google moved Gemini Omni 1.2 Flash into Google Ads video campaigns on 5 November 2026, with clips of up to 15 seconds, according to its launch post. Keep a human review on every frame before it runs.
| Asset | Recommended spec | How many |
|---|---|---|
| Horizontal image | 1.91:1, 1200 x 628 pixels | 3 recommended, up to 20 |
| Square image | 1:1, 1200 x 1200 pixels | 3 recommended, up to 20 |
| Vertical image | 4:5, 960 x 1200 pixels | 3 recommended, optional |
| Logo | 1:1, 1200 x 1200 pixels | 1 recommended |
| Videos | 16:9, 9:16 or 4:5, and 1:1 | 3 per ratio, 10 to 60 seconds |
| Headlines | Up to 40 characters, one at 30 or fewer | 5 recommended |
| Descriptions | Up to 90 characters | 3 recommended |
Advertain summary of the Google Ads Demand Gen specs page, checked 8 November 2026. Specs change, so confirm in Google Ads before you brief production.
6. Launch, then give the system room to learn
Make your edits before launch. Frequent budget, bid or audience changes in week one reset learning.
Use Demand Gen's built in A/B experiments to test one creative idea against another. Change one variable per test so you know what moved the cost per result.
7. Measure incremental impact, not just platform conversions
Platform reported conversions flatter every channel. Demand Gen supports Conversion Lift, Search Lift and Brand Lift, which compare exposed and holdout groups. Our guide to YouTube brand lift studies covers how to set one up and read it honestly.
A campaign that finds new buyers can look expensive on a last click report and still be the best money you spend.
Demand gen campaigns examples worth studying
Both examples below are self reported case studies published by Google. Use them for structure, not as benchmarks.
Zoopla: brand budget, performance goal
Zoopla, the UK property platform, ran Demand Gen across YouTube, Shorts, Discover and Gmail using ten second cut downs of its brand campaign and a set of static images, according to its Think with Google case study. It targeted life event segments and lookalikes built from five million registered homeowners.
Midway through, the team found existing users were dampening incremental lift, so it moved beyond its core users. A full funnel lift study measured the results below.
Zoopla Demand Gen results (self reported, Think with Google)
Petco: social video adapted for Google surfaces
Agency Ovative ran Demand Gen for US pet retailer Petco over Cyber Week, adapting existing social videos into vertical, square and horizontal cuts, and syncing the product catalogue through Merchant Center. In the Think with Google write up, the agency reports a 626 percent increase in omnichannel ROAS versus the previous year's Demand Gen tests, 71 percent more store visits and an 86 percent lower omnichannel CPA.
Those numbers compare against earlier tests, so read them as direction. The repeatable lesson is the workflow: reuse social footage, front load the brand in the first five seconds and attach a product feed.
It's not about replacing paid. Paid still works... Organic builds the audience. Paid accelerates it.
Oscar Owen, LinkedIn, May 2026.
That is why Demand Gen works best fed by content you already know people choose to watch. Organic posts that hold attention make the strongest paid assets. Our paid vs organic social media guide covers how to split the budget, and the weekly Friday Cut tracks platform ad changes as they land.
One more channel to plan for: buyers increasingly research in AI answers as well as on YouTube. Our GEO guide covers that side.
Demand Gen launch checklist
- Google tag live and tested. A test conversion recorded before spend.
- One goal per campaign. Bid strategy matches it.
- Budget at least ten times Target CPA. If you use Target CPA.
- Lookalike seeds from real customers. Existing customers excluded for growth goals.
- Channel controls match your creative. No landscape video forced into Shorts.
- Three assets per ratio. Hook and brand in the first five seconds.
- Product feed attached if you sell online. Merchant Center linked.
- Lift study planned. Holdout agreed before launch.
Frequently asked questions
What is the difference between Demand Gen and Performance Max?
Performance Max runs across every Google channel, including Search, and gives you few hard controls. Demand Gen stays on visual surfaces such as YouTube, Shorts, Discover, Gmail and Display, and lets you choose audiences, channels and creative tests. Use Demand Gen to create demand and Performance Max to capture it across Google.
Is Demand Gen replacing Google Display campaigns?
Yes. Google began moving Display campaigns into Demand Gen with a migration tool in June 2026. Later, new Display campaigns can only be created inside Demand Gen, and remaining eligible campaigns will move automatically. Display only buying is still possible within Demand Gen.
How much budget does a Demand Gen campaign need?
Google does not publish a fixed minimum. For Target CPA bidding it recommends a daily budget of at least ten times your target, and the budget panel in Google Ads suggests low, medium and high levels for your settings. Start where the campaign can record conversions every day.
Do Demand Gen campaigns run on YouTube Shorts?
Yes. Shorts is one of the core placements, alongside YouTube in stream, in feed, Discover, Gmail and the Google Display Network. Channel controls let you run vertical video on Shorts only if that is the creative you have.
What are good demand gen campaigns examples to learn from?
Google has published several self reported case studies, including Zoopla in the UK and Petco in the US. Read them for structure: audience seeds, creative cut downs and lift measurement, rather than as benchmarks for your own results.
Want help turning organic video into paid assets that perform? See our work or talk to us about your brand.
