Demand Gen Campaigns and Channel Prioritisation in 2026

#01How do channel controls work?

At ad group level you can pick all Google channels or choose specific ones: YouTube (in-stream, in-feed, Shorts), Discover, Gmail, Maps and the Display Network. Use separate ad groups when creative differs, for example vertical video for Shorts and square images for Discover.

#02How does channel prioritisation work?

From 15 October 2026, Google is rolling out channel prioritisation across Search, Shopping, Performance Max and Demand Gen.

• High priority channels spend first (within your target if you use Target CPA or ROAS). All channels start as High.
• Low priority channels get spend after High priority ones.
• Priority only changes spending when the campaign is limited by budget.
• In Demand Gen, Google channels are grouped together and the Display Network can have its own priority. Budget allocation percentages are not supported in Demand Gen.

You can set defaults at account level and override per campaign. Google notes you can't set it from a manager account.

#03What about Search campaigns with Display expansion?

Google says that from February 2027, Search campaigns with Display expansion will migrate automatically to channel prioritisation and budget allocation, and channel spend may shift. Review those campaigns before then.

#04How should you measure Demand Gen?

Demand Gen supports conversion-based and Maximize Clicks bidding, plus brand lift and conversion lift studies. For B2B, the useful check is whether exposed audiences later search for your brand or convert through other campaigns, which lift studies and GA4 journeys help show.

Our view: Demand Gen is for creating demand, so give it a goal and a measurement plan that match. Judged on last-click cost per lead against brand Search, it will always look bad.

#05When should you use Demand Gen?

#06How do you set it up, step by step?

1. Create a Demand Gen campaign and choose the goal and bidding. Google supports conversion-based bidding and Maximise clicks.
2. Choose audiences: Customer Match lists, your data segments and lookalike segments.
3. Upload image and video assets in several ratios.
4. Choose channels if the setting is available to you.
5. Set a lift study if you need incrementality evidence.

#07What changes with channel prioritisation?

From 15 October 2026, Google describes the following for channel prioritisation in Performance Max:

• It can't be set from a manager (MCC) account.
• A 0% allocation for a channel means no spend there.
• Demand Gen campaigns don't have an allocation.
• A Display Expansion migration follows in February 2027.

Read Google's current help page before relying on any of this; rollout details change.

#08Troubleshooting

#09Practitioner hacks for Demand Gen

• Lead with your best customer data. A clean Customer Match list makes a better lookalike seed than a broad interest segment.
• Make creative for the feed, with clear product shots and short videos rather than resized display banners.
• Give it time. Demand Gen reaches people earlier in the journey; leads may take longer to arrive than from Search.
• Use lift studies to judge value rather than last-click conversions alone.
• Exclude current customers unless the goal is upsell.

#10Questions to ask about Demand Gen

1. What does success look like, and how will we measure it?
2. Which audiences are we testing?
3. Which formats and ratios do we have?
4. Is a lift study set up?

#11How does it fit with the rest of the account?

Use Search for people already looking, Performance Max for broad conversion coverage, and Demand Gen to create interest among people who fit your customer profile. Report each against its own goal rather than comparing them on one cost per lead.

#12A 30-minute audit for this lesson

1. List Demand Gen campaigns, goals and bidding.
2. Check audience sources and exclusions.
3. Count assets by format and ratio.
4. Check whether lift studies exist.
5. Review channel prioritisation settings in Performance Max if used.

#13Key terms

#14Common scenarios and fixes

Demand Gen drove clicks but no leads. Diagnosis: Maximise clicks bidding with no conversion data. Fix: Switch to conversion bidding once there is enough data, and judge with a lift study.

Creative tired out quickly. Diagnosis: Too few assets. Fix: Add more images and videos and rotate new ones monthly.

Channel spend changed after 15 October 2026. Diagnosis: New channel prioritisation rules. Fix: Check the settings at account level and Google's current help page.

#15How should you judge Demand Gen fairly?

Demand Gen reaches people who aren't searching yet, so comparing its cost per lead directly with brand Search will nearly always make it look worse. That doesn't mean it isn't working; brand Search often captures demand that other channels created.

Judge it in three ways. First, the campaign's own conversions over a longer window than Search, because people discovered in a feed take longer to act. Second, lift: brand, search and conversion lift studies measure what happened because of the ads compared with a holdout. Third, downstream signals such as growth in brand searches and direct traffic over the test period, read with caution because other activity also affects them.

Decide which of these you will use before launch, and how long the test will run. Without that, the result will be argued over rather than acted on.

#16What assets does Demand Gen need?

Plan for images in several ratios, such as square, portrait and wide formats, so ads fit each placement, plus at least one short video. Show the product in use and the outcome it delivers, with little text on the image. Write headlines and descriptions that work without the image, since placements vary. Refresh assets on a schedule so audiences don't see the same creative for months, and compare performance by asset in the reporting before you replace anything.

#17Worked example: Ledgerline's first Demand Gen test

Ledgerline is a fictional accounts-payable software company. Details and numbers are illustrative.

Ledgerline migrated its old Display campaign into Demand Gen and split it into two ad groups: one for YouTube Shorts and in-feed with a 30-second customer story, one for Discover and Gmail with images. It set the Display Network to low priority in Demand Gen and measured success as branded search volume and demo requests from exposed users over eight weeks.

Walkthrough: Ledgerline's Demand Gen test

1. Built a campaign targeting finance managers using a lookalike of the sales-qualified Customer Match list.
2. Uploaded product screenshots and a 30-second customer video in several ratios.
3. Started on Maximise clicks to gather data, then moved to conversion bidding.
4. Set up a conversion lift study to judge whether the campaign drove leads the team would not have got anyway.

#18Try it yourself

1. Decide which audience you would test first in Demand Gen.
2. List the image and video assets you have, by ratio.
3. Write the lift question you want answered.

#19Quick quiz

1. Can you set channel prioritisation from an MCC from 15 October 2026?

Answer: No.

2. What does a 0% allocation mean?

Answer: No spend on that channel.

3. Which lift studies does Demand Gen support?

Answer: Brand, search and conversion lift.

#20What should you check before the next lesson?

• List any Display campaigns and plan their move to Demand Gen.
• Check channel controls in each Demand Gen ad group.
• Review Search campaigns with Display expansion before February 2027.
• Decide how you will measure Demand Gen beyond last click.

Next: Ads in AI Overviews and AI Mode. Or return to the Google Ads for Marketers track.

#21Common questions

Where do Demand Gen ads show? On YouTube (including Shorts), Discover, Gmail, Maps and the Google Display Network.

Is Display going away? Google is moving Display campaigns into Demand Gen. From June 2026, eligible advertisers can migrate with a tool; later, new campaigns will only be created in Demand Gen.

Can I set a channel budget in Demand Gen? Channel prioritisation is available for Demand Gen, but Google says budget allocation is not supported for Demand Gen campaigns.