Google Ads Updates Demand Gen With Messaging, Travel Ads, and AI Video Tools

On August 27, 2026, Google introduced another update to Demand Gen, a campaign type that helps businesses reach potential customers on YouTube and other Google properties.

This time, the company focused on three areas: the ability to start a conversation with an advertiser directly from a YouTube ad, personalized advertising for travel services, and automated video production using artificial intelligence.

For businesses, these changes address different needs. Companies that sell through consultations will find it easier to move interested users into conversations. Hotels and travel services will be able to present more relevant accommodations and experiences. Advertisers with limited production budgets will gain additional tools for creating videos in different formats.

What Is Google Demand Gen and How Do These Campaigns Work?

Demand Gen is a Google Ads campaign type designed to attract customers through images, videos, and product offers.

Unlike search advertising, where users enter queries themselves, Demand Gen helps generate interest in products while people browse content.

Ads can appear on YouTube, including Shorts, in Discover recommendations, Gmail, Google Maps, and available Google Display Network inventory.

For example, a furniture manufacturer can show videos featuring home interiors to people interested in home design. An online clothing retailer can showcase a new collection in YouTube Shorts. A travel agency can promote vacation destinations to users planning a trip.

Demand Gen uses automated bidding and audience selection algorithms. Advertisers define budgets, conversion goals, audiences, and advertising assets, while Google optimizes delivery based on the likelihood of achieving the desired result.

These campaigns are not limited to building awareness. They can optimize for website visits, leads, purchases, and conversion value.

This is why Google continues to expand Demand Gen with tools that shorten the path from initial product discovery to an inquiry or purchase.

Google Tests Messaging Directly From YouTube Ads

The first August update concerns advertisers that generate leads through direct messages.

Google is testing the ability to start a conversation with a business in a messaging app directly from a Demand Gen ad on YouTube.

Previously, a typical user journey looked like this: a person watched an ad, visited the website, reviewed the offer, and only then opened a lead form or clicked a button to contact a sales representative.

The new scenario eliminates some of these steps.

A user watches a video, becomes interested in the offer, and can proceed directly to a conversation with a company representative through a supported messaging application.

For example, a custom furniture company shows a completed interior project in a YouTube video. A potential customer wants to know how much a similar project would cost but is not ready to browse an extensive catalog or fill out a form.

Instead, the customer will be able to start a conversation with a sales representative directly from the ad.

Who Can Benefit From Messaging Leads?

The new capability is most interesting for companies where purchases rarely happen without discussing terms and requirements first.

Examples include:

• Custom furniture and renovations. Customers ask about dimensions, materials, production timelines, and pricing.
• Real estate. Users need to discuss property features, purchasing terms, or schedule a viewing.
• Automotive. Prospective customers may ask about vehicle configurations, availability, and financing.
• Education services. Prospective students ask about programs, schedules, and tuition.
• B2B services. Customers often need an initial consultation before they are ready to submit a formal inquiry.

The advantage is the ability to begin communicating at the moment interest in the product has already developed.

However, opening a messaging app is not the same as generating a qualified lead.

For example, a user may open a conversation without sending a message. Alternatively, they may ask a question that reveals the offer is not suitable for them.

Advertisers therefore need to track not only the number of conversations initiated, but also the share of users who respond, qualified inquiries, and closed deals.

How to Connect Messaging Apps to Demand Gen

At the time of the August announcement, Google described this capability as a feature under testing.

The company had not yet provided universal public setup instructions for all advertisers, disclosed a complete list of supported messaging apps, or confirmed general availability of the new placement.

It is therefore too early to assume that a dedicated setup button will be available in every Google Ads account.

Advertisers interested in testing should check availability in Demand Gen and confirm participation requirements with their Google representative.

Before launching, businesses should prepare their inquiry management process: assign responsible sales representatives, ensure fast responses to messages, and configure the transfer of conversation outcomes to their CRM.

Companies receiving large volumes of inquiries may also need a chatbot or a system for distributing conversations among sales representatives.

Without these processes, shortening the path to the first message will not necessarily increase sales.

Demand Gen Expands Hotel and Travel Advertising

The second area of the August update is related to travel.

Google is expanding Demand Gen capabilities for promoting hotels, local activities, events, and travel offers.

The main change is that ads can incorporate more up-to-date information about a trip and the potential customer's preferences.

The company highlights several areas:

Local activities and events. Users may see offers related to activities and events at their intended travel destination.

Current offers. Advertising assets can use information about special terms and promotions available at a particular time.

Personalized hotel advertising. Google aims to show users accommodations that better match their interests and anticipated travel plans.

For example, a user watches videos about traveling to Barcelona. Instead of seeing a generic ad from a hotel chain, they may see an offer for a specific hotel suitable for that destination.

Another scenario involves advertising tours, museums, and local activities to people who have shown interest in visiting a particular city.

For travel businesses, this creates an opportunity to shift from promoting the brand as a whole to presenting more specific offers connected to a traveler's plans.

Who Can Benefit From the New Travel Ad Formats?

The update is relevant to hotel chains, individual hotels, travel agencies, tour operators, and activity booking services.

There is particularly strong potential for companies with extensive inventories of offers that change based on destination, season, and availability.

For example, a hotel chain can use current offers from different properties, while a tour booking service can promote activities in a specific city.

However, personalization must be based on accurate information about products and services. If an advertised price, room availability, or booking terms differ from the information on the website, this can reduce conversion rates and customer trust.

How to Configure the New Travel Advertising Capabilities

Google announced expanded travel formats for Demand Gen but did not publish a single step-by-step setup guide applicable to all types of travel advertisers.

It would therefore be incorrect to assume that advertising for hotels, events, and local activities will be configured in exactly the same way.

Depending on the product, different data sources, product or hotel offers, and relevant advertising integrations may be required.

Advertisers should check the availability of the new capabilities in their Google Ads accounts and make sure offer information is updated regularly.

Google Makes AI Video Generation in Asset Studio Generally Available

The third update concerns the production of advertising assets.

Google announced general availability of Multimodal Video Creation in Asset Studio, a tool that helps advertisers produce videos for different placements through a unified workflow.

One of the main challenges of Demand Gen remains the need to regularly prepare diverse advertising assets.

For example, the same brand may use a horizontal video for standard YouTube placements and a vertical version for Shorts.

Traditionally, creating these assets requires separate editing, composition adjustments, and checks to ensure text remains readable on different screens.

Asset Studio combines several stages of video preparation, from developing an initial script and storyboard to producing assets in horizontal and vertical orientations.

It uses Google's generative AI tools, including the Gemini Omni multimodal model.

What This Means for Online Retailers and Small Businesses

The main benefit of the new capability is the ability to create additional advertising variations faster without requiring a full video production process for every placement.

Consider a women's clothing retailer that releases a small collection every month.

To promote new arrivals, it needs video assets in different formats, but professional shoots and editing for each video can be expensive.

With AI tools, the retailer can prepare several advertising concepts more quickly and adapt assets for YouTube Shorts and other Demand Gen placements.

Another example is a home appliance manufacturer that wants to test different approaches to advertising a single product.

One video can emphasize ease of use, another can focus on design, and a third can highlight time savings.

The ability to create these variations faster helps advertisers run more advertising experiments.

However, using AI does not eliminate the need to verify that images and product demonstrations are accurate.

For advertising clothing, furniture, appliances, and other physical products, it is especially important that generated materials do not misrepresent the product's actual characteristics.

How to Use Multimodal Video Creation

The tool is available in Google Ads Asset Studio and is designed to create video assets directly within Google's advertising ecosystem.

The workflow includes preparing an idea or storyboard, creating video assets, and adapting the results for different placement formats.

After generation, advertisers need to review the assets for brand consistency, accurate product representation, correct text, and compliance with the advertising platforms' technical requirements.

Completed videos can be used in Demand Gen campaigns.

It is important to remember that general availability does not guarantee an identical set of features across all countries, languages, and accounts.

How the New Demand Gen Features May Affect Advertising Performance

Google's August updates address three different advertiser challenges.

The first is losing potential customers between viewing an ad and making an inquiry. Direct access to messaging can shorten this journey.

The second is the limited relevance of advertising offers to travelers. More personalized hotel and activity advertising can make ads more useful when people are planning trips.

The third is the high cost and complexity of video production. AI generation enables advertisers to prepare additional creative assets more quickly.

However, there is not yet sufficient independent evidence to claim that each of these updates reduces CPA or improves ROAS.

Google cites its own results from broader Demand Gen improvements: according to internal experiments, hundreds of enhancements introduced during the second half of 2025 delivered an average 30% increase in conversions or conversion value.

However, this figure cannot be attributed solely to the August 2026 features. It relates to an earlier set of improvements and is not a forecast of results for an individual advertiser.

The new capabilities should therefore be evaluated against specific business metrics.

For messaging, these include qualified inquiries and customer acquisition cost.

For travel advertising, the relevant measures are bookings, revenue, and return on ad spend.

For AI video production, advertisers should evaluate reduced asset production costs, faster test launches, and changes in campaign performance.

Affect's Takeaway: Demand Gen Moves Closer to Sales

The August Demand Gen update shows that Google is working to make video advertising not only a tool for attracting attention, but also a full-fledged customer acquisition channel.

Messaging makes it possible to move more quickly from watching an ad to talking with a seller. Travel formats make advertising offers more relevant. And Asset Studio helps advertisers produce more videos and test different advertising messages.

For B2B companies and sellers of high-value products, the ability to move directly from a YouTube ad into a conversation with a prospective customer may be the most interesting development.

Travel businesses should pay attention to new ways of promoting specific hotels, activities, and offers related to users' travel plans.

Online retailers and smaller brands can benefit from exploring AI video generation, especially if a lack of creative assets is limiting their Demand Gen growth.

Affect recommends testing the new capabilities as they become available in advertising accounts, but measuring their effectiveness through actual commercial results rather than the number of views, conversations, or videos produced.

The central direction of Demand Gen's development is to reduce the distance between a user's interest in a product and their next action: an inquiry, booking, or purchase.

Sources

1. Google Ads & Commerce Blog, August 27, 2026: Reach Your Audience in New Ways With August's Demand Gen Drop. Google Ads & Commerce Blog
2. Google Ads Help: About Demand Gen Campaigns. Google Ads Help
3. Google Accelerate: Demand Gen Drops. Google Accelerate
4. Search Engine Land, August 27, 2026: Google Expands Demand Gen With Messaging Ads, Travel Tools and AI Video Creation. Search Engine Land
5. Social Media Today, August 27, 2026: Google Adds DMs and Travel Activity Recommendations to Demand Gen Ads. Social Media Today