Demand Gen YouTube placements: how channel controls and placements work after Video action
Part of YouTube channel planning
The short answer
In Demand Gen, two things decide where YouTube ads run. Channel controls on each ad group pick surfaces such as in-stream, in-feed and Shorts, and contextual targeting can add topics, placements or keywords. Exclusions sit mostly at the account level. Former Video action campaigns follow these rules now, because Google upgraded all of them into Demand Gen.
Key takeaways
- Google upgraded every Video action campaign into Demand Gen; campaigns kept supported settings, lost unsupported ones and opted out of new features by default.
- Channel controls are set per ad group: All Google channels is the default Google recommends, and Let me choose can restrict an ad group to YouTube in-stream, in-feed or Shorts.
- Google's audiences overview describes contextual targeting by topics, placements or keywords across YouTube and the Display Network.
- Google's help pages disagreed on Demand Gen exclusions when checked in October 2026, so confirm the options in the account.
- Format segmentation shows how YouTube delivery split across skippable in-stream, in-feed and Shorts.
What changed for YouTube placements when Video action campaigns became Demand Gen?
Video campaigns built for conversions had already lost content targeting before the upgrade: Google's placement targeting help (opens in a new tab) says content targeting can no longer be added to new or existing video campaigns that drive conversions, and Display & Video 360 says positive targeting of keywords, categories or placements was not available for YouTube video action campaigns, only exclusions. Google then moved those campaigns into Demand Gen in stages and finished the upgrade; the hub guide gives the timeline.
Google's upgrade notice (opens in a new tab) set four rules for what carried over. Features Demand Gen did not support were removed. Features that existed in both kept their settings. Features that Demand Gen expanded defaulted to the closest equivalent. New features were switched off. One placement rule was specific: a placement pointing to a deleted YouTube channel had to be deleted before the campaign could migrate.
| Area | As a Video action campaign | After the upgrade to Demand Gen |
|---|---|---|
| Inventory | YouTube and Google video partners | Adds Discover and Gmail, with channel controls across all Demand Gen surfaces |
| Positive content targeting | Not available for conversion focused video campaigns | Contextual targeting by topics, placements or keywords, as Google's audiences overview describes |
| Location and language | Campaign level | Available at the ad group level |
| Audiences | Existing audience segments | Adds lookalike segments |
| Reporting | No format segmentation | Adds format segmentation, so YouTube delivery splits by ad format |
How do channel controls decide where a Demand Gen ad group runs on YouTube?
Channel controls are the main lever a planner has over YouTube surfaces in Demand Gen. Google's channel controls page (opens in a new tab) says they are set at the ad group level, with two modes. All Google channels lets Google choose and is what it recommends for most advertisers; it can optionally include the Google Display Network. Let me choose lists YouTube, with in-stream, in-feed and Shorts as separate options, plus Discover, Gmail, Maps and the Google Display Network.
| Choice | What it does | Limits Google documents |
|---|---|---|
| All Google channels | Google spreads delivery across eligible surfaces for the lowest overall cost | Google Display Network is an optional add on in this mode |
| Let me choose: YouTube in-stream | Restricts the ad group to in-stream video ads | Not every channel is compatible with every ad type or audience |
| Let me choose: YouTube in-feed | Restricts the ad group to in-feed placements | Google says content exclusions may give limited coverage of in-feed ads |
| Let me choose: YouTube Shorts | Restricts the ad group to the Shorts feed | Content exclusions may give limited coverage of Shorts |
| YouTube Engagements goal | Optimizes for channel subscriptions or follow on views | Serves only on YouTube inventory, even when all channels are selected |
Where do placements fit in Demand Gen targeting?
Google's Demand Gen audiences overview (opens in a new tab) says ads will show on content that matches the targeted topics, placements or keywords, and that this applies across the Display Network and YouTube channels. Read that as any match: a topic added beside a channel list widens the eligible content. The same page describes optimized targeting as an opt in automated solution for advertisers focused on conversions.
Google's Demand Gen pages say less about positive placements than its Video campaign pages do. No step by step setup page for Demand Gen placements was found in October 2026, and About Demand Gen campaigns (opens in a new tab) lists YouTube Shorts, in-feed, Home feed, watch next and YouTube Search among the places ads run. A channel list in Demand Gen is best treated as one input among several, with channel controls doing more of the work of keeping the ad group on the right surfaces.
Definition
- Contextual targeting in Demand Gen
- Targeting by what the content is about, using topics, placements such as YouTube channels or videos, or keywords, instead of or alongside audience segments. Google applies it across YouTube and the Display Network.
Which exclusions and suitability settings apply to Demand Gen on YouTube?
Google's own pages conflict here. The Demand Gen FAQ (opens in a new tab) says topic and placement exclusions will not be generally available at the campaign or ad group levels, that core suitability settings are not available at the campaign level, and that keyword exclusions live at the account level under Excluded content keywords. The audiences overview lists content exclusions for keywords, topics or placements, including YouTube channels and videos. Google's help pages disagreed when checked in October 2026; confirm the exclusion options in the account.
What is consistent is the account level route. Google's content suitability page (opens in a new tab) lists inventory types for every YouTube surface, and placement exclusions and content themes for Shorts except in Video action and Performance Max campaigns. On the YouTube Home and Subscriptions feeds only the inventory type applies. For a brand with firm limits, the dependable controls are the account inventory type, an account placement exclusion list and channel controls that keep the ad group off surfaces the plan did not choose.
How did the Google video partners setting change in Demand Gen?
Buyers who remember a Google video partners checkbox in Demand Gen will not find it under that name. Google's Display Network integration page (opens in a new tab) says that in March 2025 the setting was renamed Google Display Network and moved from the campaign to the ad group, and existing opt ins carried over to every ad group in the campaign. From April 2025, opted in campaigns with image assets began serving on Display Network image inventory.
Keeping a YouTube channel plan off Display inventory in Demand Gen
- Split video and image ads. Put them in separate ad groups, as Google's integration page suggests.
- Choose surfaces by hand. Set Let me choose on the video ad group and tick only the YouTube surfaces in the plan.
- Leave Display unticked. Keep Include Google Display Network unchecked unless the brief asks for it.
- Check the estimate panel. Google says the estimated results panel shows whether the chosen channels and settings still reach enough of the audience.
How should a planner structure Demand Gen ad groups around a YouTube channel plan?
Because channel controls, location and language all sit on the ad group, the ad group is the unit of planning in Demand Gen. A useful rule is one ad group per decision the client will want to read separately: a surface, a market or a creative format. Mixing several in one ad group hands the split to the optimizer and leaves no clean way to report it.
Fictional example
A car dealership group in Pennsylvania builds Demand Gen ad groups
An unnamed group of car dealerships in Philadelphia and Pittsburgh asks for YouTube ads beside car review, ownership cost and maintenance explainer channels, in English, with no accident or crash footage. Its former Video action campaign is now a Demand Gen campaign with its old settings carried over.
The planner rebuilds it as three ad groups. One runs YouTube in-stream with the long-form review channels as placements. One runs Shorts only, with vertical creative and no placements, because the plan treats Shorts as a reach layer. One carries image ads with Display Network left off. Each ad group targets both metro areas, so the client sees surface performance without a market split it did not ask for.
Accident and crash channels the client rejected go on the account placement exclusion list. The plan notes that Google's pages conflict on ad group exclusions and records what the account showed on the day of setup.
How can a buyer check where Demand Gen ads ran on YouTube?
Google's channel controls page says channel level reporting is available at the campaign, ad group and ad level through network segmentation, and that YouTube traffic can be segmented further by ad format: skippable in-stream, in-feed and Shorts. For named placements, the Where ads showed report (opens in a new tab) lists channels and videos only for ads on the YouTube Watch page; feed placements appear as youtube.com.
After launch checks for a Demand Gen YouTube plan
- Network segmentation shows delivery only on the channels each ad group was set to use.
- Format segmentation matches the plan's split between in-stream, in-feed and Shorts.
- Watch page placements in the Where ads showed report come from the approved channel list or explainable neighbors.
- No rejected channel appears in placement reporting, and the account exclusion list holds every channel the client refused.
- The setup record notes which exclusion options the account offered on the day of launch.
How does PlacementGraph plan YouTube channels for a Demand Gen campaign?
Frequently asked questions
Can a Demand Gen campaign run only on YouTube Shorts?
Yes. Google's channel controls page uses serving only on YouTube Shorts as its example. Set the ad group to Let me choose and select only Shorts under YouTube. Supply vertical video, and expect content exclusions to give limited coverage there, as Google's content suitability page says.
Does All Google channels include the Display Network automatically?
No. Google's channel controls page says that under All Google channels the Google Display Network can optionally be included, so it is a separate choice on each ad group. Check the setting on every ad group, since opt ins carried over from the old video partners setting when it moved to the ad group level.
Why did an upgraded campaign lose some of its settings?
Google's upgrade notice says features Demand Gen does not support were removed during migration, while supported features kept their settings and new features stayed switched off. Placements for deleted YouTube channels had to be removed before migration. Compare the old campaign's setup record with the Demand Gen ad groups and rebuild what is missing.
Do Demand Gen line items in Display & Video 360 follow the same rules?
They are a separate product. Display & Video 360 says Demand Gen line items need both Floodlight optimization for YouTube and YouTube auto tagging enabled, offer inventory choices such as YouTube in-stream, Shorts, in-feed, Discover and Gmail, and that their reporting through Display & Video 360 is not MRC accredited.
Sources
- Video Action Campaigns are being upgraded to Demand Gen (opens in a new tab)Google Ads Help
- Channel controls in Demand Gen campaigns (opens in a new tab)Google Ads Help
- Demand Gen audiences overview (opens in a new tab)Google Ads Help
- Demand Gen Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) (opens in a new tab)Google Ads Help
- About Demand Gen campaigns (opens in a new tab)Google Ads Help
- Google Display Network integration with Demand Gen (opens in a new tab)Google Ads Help
- About YouTube Engagements goals in Demand Gen (opens in a new tab)Google Ads Help
- About content suitability (opens in a new tab)Google Ads Help
- About placement targeting (opens in a new tab)Google Ads Help
- About the Where ads showed report (opens in a new tab)Google Ads Help
- Targeting for YouTube & partners and Demand Gen line items (opens in a new tab)Display & Video 360 Help
- About Demand Gen line items (opens in a new tab)Display & Video 360 Help
Researched and written by PlacementGraph Research. Read how we research, source and update these pages. Corrections: diana@placementgraph.com.