Google Demand Gen: placements, setup and when to use it
Google Demand Gen runs visual ads on YouTube, Shorts, Discover, Gmail, Maps and the Display Network. Where it shows, how to set it up, and the limits for gambling.
Google Demand Gen is a Google Ads campaign type that shows image, video and carousel ads across YouTube (including Shorts), Discover, Gmail, Maps and the Google Display Network. Demand Gen campaigns reach people while they browse, before they search, so they suit prospecting more than last-click affiliate conversions.
For gambling, Google limits Demand Gen to YouTube and predefined Google audiences.
What is Google Demand Gen?
Google Demand Gen is Google's visual, feed-based campaign type: several Google feeds, AI-driven delivery, and creative that has to earn attention.
Demand Gen replaced three older campaign types in stages:
Discovery campaigns were upgraded automatically in early 2024, keeping their history.
Video action campaigns followed: Google announced the upgrade in September 2024 and scheduled automatic moves for 2025.
Display campaigns are moving now (see below).
How does it work? You supply a goal, budget, audience signals and assets; the system picks channel, format and viewer. It buys attention, not intent, much like Meta or TikTok, so the ad has to create the interest it hopes to convert.
Where do Demand Gen campaigns show? (placements)
Channel controls let you narrow Demand Gen campaigns, though Google advises running all channels unless you have a reason not to. Google Demand Gen placements per Google's help, October 2026:
| Placement | What the ad looks like | Open to gambling? |
|---|---|---|
| YouTube in-stream | Skippable video before or during a video | Yes |
| YouTube in-feed | Thumbnail and headline in Home, Watch next, Search | Yes |
| YouTube Shorts | Vertical video between Shorts | Yes |
| Discover | Image or video card | No |
| Gmail | Ad inside the inbox | No |
| Google Maps | Ad shown in Maps | No |
| Google Display Network | Ads on partner sites and apps | No |
Google video partners are also available. Google puts Display Network reach at 2 million sites, videos and apps.
Demand Gen vs Discovery vs Display campaigns
Compared with Discovery, Demand Gen adds video, YouTube in-stream and Shorts, lookalike segments and now Display inventory. Display buyers give up manual control.
On 26 May 2026 Google announced that Display campaigns become Display Network inventory inside Demand Gen, with the transition expected to finish by 2027. Google says advertisers who added the Display Network to Demand Gen saw 9.5% higher ROI on average (its own August 2025 data, not an independent test).
Migrating Display campaigns
A migration tool has been rolling out in phases since June 2026. Later, new Display campaigns can only be built inside Demand Gen and the rest move automatically. To upgrade by hand:
Open Campaigns and filter by campaign type Display.
Tick the campaigns, then choose Edit > Upgrade to Demand Gen and apply.
Google advises against batches over 100.
First clear the migration blockers: lead form and click-to-call assets, custom promo text, shared budgets and campaign-level content exclusions. The upgraded copy gets a "#2" suffix, the original switches to Removed (kept in reports for up to five years), and migrated ads go back through review, which matters for certified gambling ads. Up to 42 days of history comes across, so learning takes one or two days. The change is one-way.
Not available in Demand Gen:
Bidding: manual CPC (use Target CPC), viewable-impression bidding (use Maximize clicks), pay-for-conversions, bid and seasonality adjustments, portfolio strategies.
Audiences: combined audiences.
Formats: HTML5 and third-party display ads (planned for late 2026).
Measurement: Brand Lift and Search Lift for Display Network traffic.
Topic and placement exclusions are not generally available per campaign. Test a parallel Demand Gen campaign first.
How to set up a Demand Gen campaign
Build a Google Ads Demand Gen campaign in this order; for bulk builds, use Google Ads Editor.
Conversions first. Define the lead, sign-up or sale. Add lighter actions as non-biddable secondary conversions for early signal.
Campaign goal and bidding. Pick conversions, conversion value or clicks (see below).
Budget and schedule. Daily or flight budget.
Locations and languages. Match your offer's legal GEOs.
Channel controls. All channels, or a subset.
Audiences. Within your category's limits (see below).
Exclusions. For non-gambling offers, remove existing customers and recent converters from prospecting.
Assets. Images, videos, headlines, descriptions, logo and call to action.
Landing page. One message per campaign, matched to the creative.
Account-level content suitability. Set it before launch.
A Google Demand Gen example: a certified sports-betting comparison site in licensed states runs one YouTube and Shorts campaign aimed at Google's in-market and affinity segments for sports betting. It runs on YouTube only and cannot use remarketing lists, Customer Match or lookalike segments, because Google does not allow them for gambling.
Bidding and audiences
Demand Gen offers conversion, value and click bidding, and Google suggests starting with a "maximize" strategy before setting targets.
| Goal | Volume strategy | Target strategy |
|---|---|---|
| Conversions | Maximize conversions | Target CPA |
| Value | Maximize conversion value | Target ROAS |
| Clicks | Maximize clicks | Target CPC |
Google's performance guide sets rules of thumb: a daily budget of at least 10 times your target CPA, about 50 conversions as a base, budget increases of 15% or less at a time, and 30 to 50 conversions before judging a change. A $100 target CPA means $1,000 a day, too much for many affiliate tests.
Audience options include your data (site visitors, customer lists, YouTube viewers), custom segments built from search terms and URLs, Google's affinity and in-market segments, and lookalikes modelled on buyers, visitors or channel viewers. Leave past converters out of cold campaigns: an automated system drifts toward the cheapest conversions, and returning customers are the cheapest.
If you advertise gambling, none of the first-party options apply: Google limits sensitive categories to predefined Google audiences, and does not support your data segments (remarketing), Customer Match, lookalike segments or audience expansion.
Creative requirements and what works
With fewer targeting levers, creative carries more of the work, a shift Meta Andromeda also brought to Facebook. Google Demand Gen ad specs, per Google's help as of October 2026:
Images: landscape 1.91:1, square 1:1, portrait 4:5, and vertical 9:16 (1080 x 1920 recommended). Logo 1:1.
Video: landscape, square and vertical. Vertical at 1080 x 1920 is recommended for Shorts. Videos under 10 seconds cannot serve as YouTube in-stream ads.
Text: headlines up to 40 characters (keep at least one at 30 or fewer so the ad can serve on Display), descriptions up to 90 characters, and a long headline of up to 90 characters for in-feed video.
Carousel: 2 to 10 image cards.
Product feed: from Google Merchant Center.
Some buyers run tight campaigns with one or two creatives and one message each. Google's early-2024 data points the other way: advertisers using video plus images saw 20% more conversions at the same cost per action than video-only ones. Test both.
Measuring Demand Gen without fooling yourself
Demand Gen reports count view-through and engaged-view conversions alongside clicks, so they can flatter results. Google counts an engaged view at 10 seconds of a skippable in-stream ad, or 5 seconds of an in-feed or Shorts ad. View-through conversion optimisation for video assets is available in Demand Gen; Google recommends a one-day window for primary view-through conversions, as longer windows raise the count. Check the setting in your account.
Three habits prevent "false ROAS":
Segment by ad event type. Decide mainly on click-through conversions until you trust the rest.
Exclude existing customers (where allowed) so the campaign is not credited for people who would convert anyway.
Check outside Google Ads. Watch branded search volume, use the platform-comparable conversions column for cross-platform comparison, and reconcile with the operator's numbers.
Affiliates are paid on the operator's tracking, not Google's conversion column. Last click undercounts Demand Gen; view-through overcounts it. See attribution models for how to reconcile the two.
Demand Gen vs Search and Performance Max: when to use it
Search captures demand, Demand Gen creates it, and Performance Max runs across all Google channels with the least control. Demand Gen vs Performance Max: pick Demand Gen to control channels, audiences and creative, Performance Max when you trust Google with everything and have strong conversion data.
Use Demand Gen when:
you need reach on YouTube and Shorts with your own video;
you want to retarget site visitors with visual ads (not available for gambling);
you can refresh creative every few weeks.
Stick with Search when:
you need direct-response CPA on a thin margin, which is typical of affiliate offers;
your daily budget cannot reach about 10 times your target CPA;
you have no creative beyond text.
For CPA-paid affiliates, Demand Gen is unproven as a main acquisition channel; test it for prospecting first. For the wider channel choice, see Google Ads vs Facebook Ads.
Gambling and Demand Gen: certification and country rules
Gambling ads on Google need certification and a valid licence for every country or state you target. Rules checked 29 October 2026; a summary, not legal advice.
Certification: apply per country, or ads are disapproved. See online gambling licences.
US: online casino and sports betting need a state licence where legal. Target only the states in your certification, never anyone under 21, and include a problem-gambling warning. See where online gambling is legal in the US.
Affiliates: comparison and information sites are allowed if they link only to licensed operators in the targeted region and say so in the site footer. Social casino affiliates are not allowed. Google's personalised-advertising rules cover "online gambling-related information", so affiliates face the same limits.
Placements and audiences: Google's Demand Gen help restricts sensitive categories, gambling included, to YouTube inventory and predefined Google audiences; Gmail, the Display Network and (for gambling) Discover are out. Confirm in your account.
FAQ
What is Demand Gen in Google Ads?
Google Demand Gen is a Google Ads campaign type that shows visual ads across YouTube, Shorts, Discover, Gmail, Maps and the Display Network. It replaced Discovery and Video action campaigns, is absorbing Display, and targets interest rather than search queries.
Where do Google Demand Gen ads show?
Google Demand Gen ads show on YouTube in-stream, in-feed and Shorts, Discover, Gmail, Google Maps, Display Network sites and apps, and Google video partners. Channel controls can limit a campaign to some of these. Gambling and other sensitive categories are limited to YouTube.
Is Demand Gen the same as Performance Max?
No. Performance Max covers all Google inventory, Search included, with little control. Demand Gen covers visual feeds and lets you pick channels, audiences and creative. Its predecessor was Discovery. Use Performance Max for full-funnel reach and Demand Gen for visual prospecting.
How do I create a Demand Gen campaign in Google Ads?
To create a Demand Gen campaign in Google Ads, set up conversion tracking, create a campaign and choose Demand Gen. Pick bidding and budget, set locations and channels, add the audiences your category allows, then upload images, videos and text.
How much do Demand Gen campaigns cost?
The cost of Demand Gen campaigns depends on bidding, audience and creative; Google publishes no standard price. Maximize clicks has no minimum budget. For Target CPA, Google recommends a daily budget of at least 10 times the target, so check affordability first.
Can I run Demand Gen ads for gambling?
Gambling advertisers can run Demand Gen ads only with Google certification and a valid licence for each targeted country or US state. Ads are limited to YouTube inventory and predefined Google audiences, affiliates must link only to licensed operators, and US ads must not reach anyone under 21.
Sources
Google Ads Help, About Demand Gen campaigns, section "Important policy restrictions for sensitive categories"
Google Ads Help, Demand Gen campaign performance guide
Google Ads Help, Demand Gen Frequently Asked Questions
Google Ads Help, Upgrade Display campaigns to Demand Gen
Google Ads Help, Demand Gen campaigns specs and format requirements
Google Ads Help, About video assets specifications for Demand Gen campaigns
Google Ads Help, About Engaged-view conversions
Google Advertising Policies Help, Gambling and games
Google Advertising Policies Help, Personalized advertising and Gambling in personalized advertising
