Platforms & teams · Performance Max video ads

Performance Max video ads: PMax video assets and video requirements

The short answer

Performance Max needs video assets, and if you do not upload any, Google auto-generates video from the rest of your asset group. Google accepts horizontal 16:9, square 1:1, and vertical 9:16 video of at least 10 seconds, recommends at least one of each orientation, allows up to 15 video assets per asset group, and requires at least one vertical video of 10 to 60 seconds for YouTube Shorts eligibility (Google Ads Help, checked July 2026). AdsGen fills the gap most advertisers actually have: it builds captioned vertical 9:16 video ads from a product URL, in several angles per pass, so your asset group carries real creative instead of a machine-made placeholder.

Last updated July 2026

Most brands come to Performance Max with one horizontal brand film and nothing else. That is the asset that gets uploaded, the vertical slot stays empty, and Google fills it. When an asset group has no active advertiser-uploaded video, Google generates video from your images and text, and advertisers consistently report that the result is generic: on-brand in theory, forgettable in the feed.

The fix is simple and it is mostly a supply problem. You need vertical video, at least ten seconds, ideally several variations so the campaign has something to optimize between. AdsGen produces exactly that from a product URL. Paste the link and get captioned 9:16 creator-style ads with written hooks, each a different angle, ready to upload to your asset group as YouTube-hosted video assets.

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Native vertical + captions

What you get

The vertical video assets your PMax asset group is missing

Stop the auto-generated video

Google only auto-generates video when your asset group has no active uploaded video. Add your own and the machine-made version stops serving, which puts the creative decision back with you.

The vertical asset you are missing

Google asks for at least one vertical video of 10 to 60 seconds to be eligible for YouTube Shorts inventory. That is the orientation most brands never shoot, and the one AdsGen produces natively.

Enough variations to optimize

An asset group takes up to 15 video assets. Generate several distinct angles in one pass so Performance Max has real alternatives to test instead of one video and a placeholder.

What it handles

From a product URL to uploadable Performance Max video assets

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

Vertical 9:16 video assets for PMax
Clips over the 10 second minimum
Shorts-eligible lengths from a URL
Several angles per asset group
Captions burned in for muted viewing

✨

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 beats letting Google auto-generate your video

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 Performance Max video ads

Google accepts video assets in horizontal 16:9, square 1:1, and vertical 9:16, each at least 10 seconds long, and recommends uploading at least one of every orientation. An asset group holds a maximum of 15 video assets. Video assets are YouTube-hosted, so the source video must be set to public or unlisted, and Google now offers a House channel so you can upload a file during campaign setup without linking your own channel. Specs checked against Google Ads Help in July 2026.

Google auto-generates one or more videos from the other assets in your asset group, using your images, headlines, and descriptions. It serves only when you have no active advertiser-uploaded video, so uploading your own custom video stops the auto-generated version from running. You can also opt out in campaign settings under asset optimization by unchecking the video enhancement. Most advertisers prefer to upload real creative, since the generated version tends to look generic.

At least 10 seconds, which is Google's hard minimum for a PMax video asset, and 10 to 60 seconds is the practical range. Keep at least one vertical video inside that 10 to 60 second window, because Google requires it for YouTube Shorts eligibility. Shorter clips near the low end tend to suit feed and Shorts placements, so a set of short vertical variations usually earns more of the inventory than one long horizontal film.

No. AdsGen produces native vertical 9:16 video, which is the asset most advertisers are missing and the one Google requires for Shorts eligibility. For full coverage you will still want a horizontal 16:9 and a square 1:1 asset alongside it, and Google may also reformat horizontal video into other orientations itself. We would rather be straight about the scope: AdsGen covers the vertical slot properly and at volume, not all three.

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