Google phases out YouTube video action ads for Demand Gen

Three days ago, Google announced significant changes to its Display & Video 360 platform, marking April 2025 as the deadline for creating new video action campaigns. The move signals Google's strategic pivot toward its Demand Gen offering, which expands advertising capabilities beyond YouTube to include Discover, Gmail, and the Google Display Network.

The transition represents a substantial change for digital marketers who have relied on YouTube video action line items (also known as Video Action Campaigns or VAC) to drive conversions. According to the official announcement from Google, Demand Gen will fully replace these campaigns, providing advertisers with expanded inventory options and new features designed to enhance performance optimization.

This change comes at a critical time for digital advertisers who are already preparing for the eventual deprecation of third-party cookies. The timing suggests Google is attempting to strengthen its first-party data offerings while simultaneously expanding advertising opportunities across its network of properties.

The announcement details how Demand Gen differs from existing YouTube video action line items, most notably through expanded inventory sources. While YouTube video action line items limit advertisers to YouTube and Google Video Partners, Demand Gen extends reach to Google Discover feeds, Gmail, and the broader Google Display Network.

Google is planning a phased approach to this transition. According to the announcement, "In March 2025 we're expanding inventory source controls to all available ad surfaces in Demand Gen. This allows you to choose precisely where your ads appear across YouTube, Discover, Gmail and the Google Display Network."

An important distinction in the new offering is the expanded ad format options. Demand Gen supports both video and image formats across multiple placements, while YouTube video action line items were restricted to video formats only. This expansion gives advertisers more creative flexibility to engage audiences through different visual formats.

The announcement outlines several new features available in Demand Gen that weren't accessible through YouTube video action line items. These include lookalike segments, which help advertisers find potential customers similar to existing customers based on first-party data such as customer match lists or website/app interactions.

Another significant addition is the maximize clicks bid strategy, which provides an option for advertisers without established conversion goals. According to the announcement, this strategy "is a great option for someone who wants to run Demand Gen but doesn't have conversion goals set up in their account."

Demand Gen also introduces more granular targeting capabilities, with language and location settings available at the ad-group level. This allows for easier budget fluidity between targeted locations, though radius targeting will not be immediately available in Demand Gen line items. Google indicates this feature "will launch in the coming months."

For marketers concerned about measurement capabilities, Google confirms that Demand Gen will maintain support for key measurement tools including DDA (Data-Driven Attribution), Conversion Lift, Brand Lift, Search Lift, and third-party measurement options. This consistency in measurement approaches may help ease the transition for advertisers focused on performance metrics.

The announcement provides a detailed feature comparison between Demand Gen and YouTube video action line items, highlighting gains and losses in the transition. While most features carry over, there are some notable differences. For instance, Google notes that Demand Gen does not currently support lead form ads or affiliate location assets, which are available in beta for YouTube video action line items.

The billing structure also differs between the two advertising options. According to the announcement, "YouTube video action line item billing is based on CPM. Demand Gen uses mixed billing including CPM and CPC billing and varies based on the Google surface and ad format." This variable billing approach means advertisers will need to adjust their budgeting strategies based on placement and format choices.

For advertisers concerned about transition strategies, Google outlines two main approaches: manual budget transitions or using SDF (Standard Display Format) to download existing settings and upload them as new Demand Gen line items. The latter option preserves many existing configurations but requires some adaptation of settings.

Google recommends different migration strategies based on campaign types. For ending campaigns, creating new Demand Gen line items is advised. For evergreen or always-on campaigns, a phased budget transition is suggested, with specific recommendations based on conversion types.

For advertisers with "shallow conversions" (relatively easy user actions like page visits), Google recommends ramping Demand Gen budget to 100% of YouTube video action line item budget. For those with "deep conversions" (purchases or form submissions requiring more user interaction), a more gradual approach is suggested: starting with 10% of the budget for 1-2 weeks, then 50% for 1-2 weeks, before moving to 100%.

The announcement addresses potential concerns about competition between existing YouTube video action line items and new Demand Gen line items. According to Google, "If multiple line items are in the same Display & Video 360 advertiser, or have ads driving to the same landing page URL across different Display & Video 360 advertisers, they will not compete and this will not cause you to have to pay more per auction."

Google emphasizes the importance of allowing sufficient learning time for Demand Gen's machine learning model, recommending at least two weeks or 50 conversions before making changes. This learning period is similar to what would be expected when transitioning between video action line items.

For marketers in sensitive verticals, Google confirms eligibility for Demand Gen: "Advertisers in sensitive interest categories are eligible to serve image and video ads on YouTube inventory within Demand Gen line items."

The announcement includes several best practices for setting up Demand Gen campaigns, suggesting that advertisers replicate audience approaches from comparable video action line items and consider testing lookalike audiences. For conversion-based bidding, Google recommends setting a daily budget greater than 20 times the expected CPA, while for value-based bidding, the recommendation is greater than 20 times the expected average conversion value divided by target ROAS.

This transition reflects Google's broader strategy of consolidating and enhancing its advertising products across its network. The expanded reach of Demand Gen across multiple Google properties allows advertisers to maintain visibility throughout the customer journey, from discovery to conversion.

For marketing professionals, this change signals the importance of staying adaptable in the continuously changing digital advertising landscape. The transition to Demand Gen offers potential advantages through expanded inventory and formats, but requires careful planning to maintain performance metrics during migration.

The phased approach to this transition, with April 2025 as the deadline for creating new video action campaigns, gives advertisers several months to prepare and test new strategies. Marketers who begin testing Demand Gen early may gain valuable insights before the forced transition occurs.

Timeline

• March 2025: Expansion of inventory source controls to all available ad surfaces in Demand Gen
• April 2025: Removal of the option to create new video action campaigns in Display & Video 360
• Recommended ramp-up timeline for Demand Gen:
  • Launch Demand Gen
  • Learning period: Approximately 2 weeks
  • Campaign period with optimization: Minimum 4-6 weeks recommended
  • Account for conversion lag time
  • Scale and upgrade fully from YouTube video action line items