Platforms & teams · Demand Gen video ads

Demand Gen video ads: vertical YouTube Shorts assets from a URL

The short answer

Demand Gen is the campaign type that replaced Video Action Campaigns, and it runs your video across YouTube Shorts, in-stream, the YouTube feed, Discover, Gmail, and the Display Network. Google accepts video in 16:9, 1:1, 9:16, and 4:5, wants clips of at least 5 seconds (10 seconds or more to serve on YouTube in-stream), and recommends a vertical 9:16 asset because that is the format built for YouTube Shorts. AdsGen makes that vertical asset from a product URL: captioned, creator-style, several angles per pass, kept over 10 seconds so it stays eligible everywhere Demand Gen serves.

Last updated July 2026

Demand Gen finished the job Video Action Campaigns started. Google stopped letting anyone create new Video Action Campaigns in April 2025 and upgraded the last existing ones to Demand Gen by April 2026, so if you run video for direct response on Google, you run it in Demand Gen now. The campaign serves across YouTube Shorts, in-stream, the YouTube feed, Discover, Gmail, and the Display Network, and it leans on vertical video to reach the Shorts inventory.

The asset most advertisers never produce is the vertical one. AdsGen builds it from a product URL. Paste the link and get captioned 9:16 creator-style ads, each a different angle, kept over the ten second mark so they stay eligible for in-stream as well as Shorts. Pair them with a horizontal and a square asset and your campaign has real creative in every slot instead of leaning on Google's auto-generated versions.

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Native vertical + captions

What you get

The vertical Shorts asset your Demand Gen campaign is missing

Built for the Shorts slot

Google recommends a vertical 9:16 video because it is the format made for YouTube Shorts. That is the asset most brands never shoot, and the one AdsGen makes natively, so your campaign can actually reach Shorts inventory.

Over ten seconds on purpose

A Demand Gen video has to be at least 5 seconds, but anything under 10 seconds will not serve on YouTube in-stream. AdsGen keeps clips above that line, so one asset works across Shorts, in-stream, and the feed instead of being locked out of half your placements.

Real creative, not auto-generated

Leave the video slot empty and Demand Gen builds clips from your images and text with generative AI, hosted on a channel you cannot control. Upload your own vertical ads and you decide what runs. Generate several angles in one pass so the campaign has something to optimize between.

What it handles

From a product URL to uploadable Demand Gen video assets

You pick the angles, creators, and tone. AdsGen writes the hooks, casts the creators, and renders native vertical ads with captions.

Native 9:16 for YouTube Shorts
Clips kept over the 10 second minimum
Several angles per campaign
Captions burned in for muted feeds
Creator-style video from a product URL

✨

PROBLEM→SOLUTION TIKTOK

this fixed the thing i gave up on

the fix i stopped looking for

9:16 0:18 {{ $handle }}

🛍️

TESTIMONIAL REELS

everyone kept telling me to try this

recommended by people i trust

9:16 0:22 {{ $handle }}

Why AdsGen

Why AdsGen fills the Demand Gen vertical video slot

Not a stiff corporate avatar, not a raw clip you still have to edit. A finished UGC video ad.

Creators that look real

AI creators built to look like real people filming on a phone, casual and feed-authentic, not uncanny.

Every winning angle

Problem-solution, testimonial, unboxing, "I was skeptical", founder. Ship many variations to find a winner fast.

Zero cleanup

Native vertical, captioned, correctly sized for each platform. Download and run, no re-editing.

Good questions

Questions about Demand Gen video ads

Google accepts Demand Gen video in four aspect ratios: horizontal 16:9, square 1:1, vertical 9:16, and vertical 4:5, with 9:16 recommended for YouTube Shorts. Uploaded video must be at least 5 seconds, and clips under 10 seconds will not run on YouTube in-stream, so 10 seconds or more is the safe floor. Google recommends going past 15 seconds for reach, accepts up to five videos per ad, and takes MPG (MPEG-2 or MPEG-4) files. Specs checked against Google Ads Help in July 2026; Google also lists a simpler 10 to 60 second recommendation on a second page, so treat 10 to 60 seconds as the practical sweet spot.

Demand Gen is the campaign type that replaced Video Action Campaigns. Google stopped new Video Action Campaign creation in April 2025 and finished upgrading the last existing ones to Demand Gen by April 2026. The practical change is reach: where Video Action Campaigns lived on YouTube, Demand Gen also serves on Discover, Gmail, Maps, and the Google Display Network, and it adds image and carousel formats alongside video. Bidding covers Maximize conversions, Target CPA, Target ROAS, and more, with Google recommending a budget of at least ten times your target CPA.

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