Summary
Demand Gen helps advertisers reach new audiences while they are streaming, scrolling, or shopping. On average, 68% of Demand Gen conversions came from users who had not seen the brand's ads on Google Search in the 30 days prior to converting. Recent enhancements for 2026 campaigns include using AI-powered personalization with optimized targeting or new customer acquisition goals to engage new or high-value customers.
Maximize reach and effectiveness by using a variety of creative assets, including auto-generated videos. Drive sales with local offers for store sales, checkout links for web sales, and Web to App Connect for in-app purchases. Choose where ads appear with channel controls across YouTube, Google Display Network, Discover, and Gmail.
Measure growth using platform comparable conversion columns for better cross-platform comparisons.
Analyst Note
What’s notable here is Google’s strategic push to position Demand Gen as a full-funnel solution beyond its traditional search stronghold. The 68% stat—showing conversions from users not exposed to search ads—underscores a deliberate move to capture incremental reach in a privacy-constrained era where third-party signals are eroding. By emphasizing AI-driven personalization (optimized targeting, new customer acquisition goals) and auto-generated video, Google is effectively commoditizing creative production and audience expansion, lowering barriers for advertisers who struggle with creative fatigue or scaling.
For UA and monetization teams, the practical impact is twofold: first, channel controls (YouTube, GDN, Discover, Gmail) provide granularity but demand more sophisticated budget allocation; second, the introduction of platform-comparable conversion columns signals a push toward cross-platform measurement standardization—a direct response to the fragmentation caused by SKAdNetwork and Meta’s mixed signals. The timing aligns with industry readiness for cookieless solutions, as Google’s own Privacy Sandbox rollout continues. However, the competitive angle is clear: Demand Gen now directly competes with Meta’s Advantage+ and TikTok’s Smart+ for upper-funnel attention, while integrating commerce tools (local offers, Web to App connect) that challenge performance-focused platforms.
Ad ops should expect increased pressure to diversify creative formats and adopt AI-driven attribution, but also note that these enhancements lock deeper reliance on Google’s ecosystem for full-funnel measurement.
You Might Also Like
AppsFlyerCross-platform measurement: the complete guide for 2026
Cross-platform measurement resolves the common problem of fragmented, device-level reporting that inflates ROAS and misallocates budgets. By unifying customer identity across web, mobile, CTV, and other surfaces, marketers gain a single view of LTV and attribution. AppsFlyer provides this via CUID stitching and Product Line grouping, enabling real-time, deduplicated insights without manual BI work. Key benefits include accurate cross-platform ROAS, elimination of duplicate attribution, and reliable data for AI-driven optimization.
SensorTowerSensor Tower APAC Awards 2025
In 2025, non-game apps surpassed games in revenue, with total in-app spending hitting $167B. APAC publishers drove a $2.58B increase in gaming revenue. Short Drama and AI Assistant categories saw explosive growth, while Blinkit, Shopee, and DeepSeek led their sectors. For ad ops, this signals shifting user attention toward lifestyle, commerce, and AI tools, creating new inventory opportunities beyond gaming.
AppsFlyerYour customers are trying to convert but your web-to-app journey is stopping them
Web-to-app continuity is often broken during the handoff between mobile web and app, causing significant revenue loss that goes undetected. Brands like AirAsia, Tata CLiQ, and Apartment List improved conversions by using AppsFlyer's Deep Linking Suite to preserve customer intent and context. Fixing this hidden leak turns fragile transitions into predictable growth.
AdjustWeb-to-app best practices: Capturing high LTV users | Adjust
Web-to-app strategies can significantly boost retention, engagement, and LTV by converting web users into high-value app users. Key pillars include defining clear goals, targeting high-intent users, designing native-feeling creatives, crafting compelling copy, ensuring seamless deep linking, and measuring attribution. Adjust's tools like Smart Banners, Smart Scripts, and TrueLink enable dynamic targeting, attribution continuity, and optimized routing. Data shows potential for 4x CTR improvements and click-to-install rates rising from 25% to 50%. Decision-makers should focus on segment-based optimization and post-install metrics to maximize ROI.
AppsFlyerMarketing attribution: what it is and how to measure it
Marketing attribution is critical for connecting spend to revenue, but platform self-reporting and last-click bias distort budget decisions. Single-touch models (first/last-click) are simple but miss the full journey; multi-touch models (position-based, data-driven) are more accurate but require robust data. Mobile attribution is particularly challenging due to ATT, SKAdNetwork, and cross-platform gaps, necessitating a mobile measurement partner (MMP) for independent, deduplicated measurement. Clean attribution data is essential for AI-driven optimization—bad signals lead to bad decisions. Starting with position-based attribution and incrementality testing provides a practical foundation.
TikTokThe AI Uprising in Advertising: TikTok is Leading the Charge | TikTok For Business Blog
TikTok's full-funnel automation, integrating creative, media, and measurement, addresses fragmentation in AI tools. Brands using Smart+ and GMV Max see improved ROAS and CPA. Case studies show Naturium achieved 3.5x ROAS, PHLUR 191% higher ROAS, and Leatherman 97% revenue increase. Symphony and Content Suite enable scalable, authentic content. The key is pairing automation with strategic storytelling.
AppsFlyerThe remarketing blind spots you didn’t know you had (and how to fix them)
Remarketing measurement relying solely on clicks misses view-through attributions, cross-platform journeys, and fraud, leading to misallocated budget and eroded efficiency. AppsFlyer advocates for independent, cross-channel, fraud-protected signals to unify attribution, deduplicate claims, and provide real-time postbacks for better optimization. Key data points include 50% higher paying user share for shopping apps running remarketing, 20% higher ROAS for gaming teams with unified attribution, and vulnerability to click flooding. Actionable takeaway: invest in a robust measurement foundation to capture true campaign influence and scale efficiently.
AdjustTurn segmentation into growth with Adjust Audiences | Adjust
Adjust Audiences enables ad ops teams to build real-time user segments for personalized campaigns. Key audience types include geographic, acquisition-based, lifecycle, inactivity, revenue, event-based, and combined segments. Sharing dynamic audiences with partners ensures up-to-date targeting, reducing wasted spend and improving ROI. Actionable insights: suppress low-intent users, retarget high-value segments, and automate workflows via partner integrations.
More from Google
Optimize your reach and frequency across campaigns with video campaign groups.
YouTube's reach and frequency optimization for video campaign groups is now globally available in Google Ads, allowing a...
Expanding AI transparency in ads
Google is adding a 'How this ad was made' section to My Ad Center, disclosing if an ad was AI-generated. For ads created...
Unlock deeper insights for YouTube brand campaigns.
New features for YouTube Video Reach and Video View campaigns include automatic inclusion of Shorts Ad Actions in budget...
Elevate your campaign performance with June’s Demand Gen Drop.
YouTube's Demand Gen expansion now offers broader video aspect ratio transformations, AI-powered creative insights via G...
Cannes Lions 2026: Strengthen creative campaigns with new tools from YouTube
At Cannes Lions, Google announced new insights tools built with Gemini to enhance creator marketing on YouTube. Key feat...
Expanding financial advertiser verification across Europe
Google expands financial services advertiser verification to all EU/EEA countries. Advertisers must verify authorization...