What is Demand Gen?
Demand Gen is a Google Ads campaign type for image and video ads on YouTube (including Shorts), Discover, Gmail and the Google Display Network. It targets people by audience, such as lookalikes of your customers, rather than by keywords, so it reaches people before they search for you.
Where Demand Gen ads show
Google lists Demand Gen inventory as YouTube Shorts, YouTube in-feed, the YouTube Home feed, watch next, YouTube Search, Discover, Gmail and the Google Display Network.[1] Google puts the reach at more than 3 billion monthly active users and more than 50 billion daily views on Shorts alone.[1]
Unlike Performance Max, you can choose which of those channels a campaign uses. Google's example is a vertical creator video served on YouTube Shorts only, so the ad matches the format people are watching.[1]
Display is folding into Demand Gen. Google says eligible advertisers can start moving existing Display campaigns with a migration tool from June 2026, and that later on new Display campaigns can only be created inside Demand Gen.[1]
Ad formats
Demand Gen takes the formats most social advertisers already make:[1]
- Image ads in landscape (1.91:1), square (1:1) and portrait (4:5), plus a square logo.
- Video ads in landscape, square and vertical.
- Carousel ads with 2 to 10 image cards.
- Product feeds from Merchant Center, so a video or image can show products underneath.
- Text: headline, description, business name, call to action and final URL.
Because these are the same shapes as Meta and TikTok ads, Demand Gen is usually the first place a social-first brand tests Google. Our guide on running Meta ads on Google covers what transfers.
How targeting works
Demand Gen is audience-first. There are no keywords. You pick segments, and the main one for prospecting is a lookalike segment: people similar to those who bought from you, visited your site or watched your YouTube channel.[1] Google also offers audience insights to help match segments to your goal.[1]
Google lists a separate rule for sensitive categories: those campaigns must use predefined Google audiences, and their ads are generally limited to YouTube.[1]
Bidding and budget
In Google's comparison, Demand Gen can bid for clicks, conversions or conversion value.[1] For a store or lead business the usual choice is conversions, with or without a target CPA.
- Budget. With target CPA bidding, Google recommends a budget of at least 10 times the target CPA.[1] A $25 target CPA means about $250 a day. Below that, the campaign may not collect enough conversions to bid well.
- Conversion events. Google suggests optimizing for lighter events such as add to basket or site visit when purchases are rare.[1] Move the goal to purchases once volume allows.
- Learning. Demand Gen uses Smart Bidding, so it has a Learning status after launch. Google says it never lasts more than 7 days, and results usually settle within 1 to 2 conversion cycles.[2]
When to use Demand Gen
- You have video or image creative that already works on social, and want more reach on YouTube and Discover.
- Search demand for your product is small, because people don't know it exists yet.
- You want control over creative tests and placements that Performance Max does not give. Google lists A/B experiments and channel choice as Demand Gen features.[1]
Skip it, or keep it small, when the budget can't meet the 10x target CPA guideline, or when you have no creative beyond text. In that case Search or Performance Max will usually use the money better. See Demand Gen vs Performance Max for a side-by-side.
RunAds builds Demand Gen campaigns with image and video creative, picks the audiences and watches cost per conversion each day. Signing up is free. Credit packs start at $25, and Google ad spend uses 5 credits per $1.
Credit packs from $25, 5 credits per $1 of ad spend. No contracts.
Common questions
Does Demand Gen use keywords?
No. Demand Gen targets audiences, such as lookalike segments built from your past buyers, site visitors or YouTube viewers. For keyword targeting use a Search campaign.
Is Demand Gen replacing Display campaigns?
Google says Display campaigns are moving to Demand Gen. From June 2026, eligible advertisers can move existing Display campaigns with a migration tool; later, new Display campaigns can only be created in Demand Gen and remaining eligible campaigns will be migrated.
What budget does Demand Gen need?
For target CPA bidding, Google recommends a daily budget of at least 10 times your target CPA. With a $30 target CPA that is $300 a day. Google's budget panel also suggests a minimum for each campaign.
Can Demand Gen run only on YouTube Shorts?
Yes. Demand Gen lets you choose channels, and Google's own example is serving a vertical creator video on YouTube Shorts only.
Is Demand Gen good for direct sales?
It can drive sales, but most people who see a Demand Gen ad were not searching for your product. Judge it on cost per conversion over a full conversion cycle, and expect a lower conversion rate than search campaigns.
Sources
- About Demand Gen campaigns, Google Ads Help. Checked Nov 9, 2026.Video and image ads on YouTube (including Shorts), Discover, Gmail and the Google Display Network. For target CPA bidding, Google recommends a budget of at least 10 times the target CPA.
- About Smart Bidding learning, Google Ads Help. Checked Nov 9, 2026.The Learning status never lasts more than 7 days and ads keep serving. Performance usually converges in 1 to 2 conversion cycles; evaluate over 2 conversion cycles or 2 weeks, whichever is longer.
Every outside number on this page links to its source above, with the date we checked it.
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