Standalone Display campaigns are being phased out as Google shifts advertisers to Demand Gen. Expect new AI-powered creative tools, expanded network reach, and changes to bidding strategies. Here’s what’s different and how to prepare.
Google is speeding up its shift to automated advertising by retiring standalone Display campaigns and moving marketers to Demand Gen as the new default. This follows earlier changes that ended Smart Shopping, Discovery, and Local campaigns, all part of Google’s broader move away from manual controls toward AI-driven tools.
Standalone Display Network campaigns have been declining since Demand Gen began offering similar features, and many advertisers have already shifted their budgets. After announcing the change in May, Google released a migration tool in June. This tool lets advertisers update live campaigns and keeps the last 42 days of performance data. The rollout will finish in January 2027, when new standalone Display campaigns can no longer be created. Automatic migration will follow later in 2027, but Google hasn’t given a specific date.
When migrating, the tool creates a Google Display Network-only Demand Gen campaign, and additional channels can be added after the transfer is complete.
With the migration tool, advertisers can update active campaigns without much disruption to learning periods. At first, migrated campaigns are limited to the Google Display Network, but more channels can be added after migration. Google’s Help Center has a step-by-step guide for this process.
Key changes in Demand Gen
Advertisers should expect some performance swings after migration, since daily spend from the old campaign doesn’t carry over. The biggest changes are the loss of certain bid strategies and ad formats. Demand Gen supports Target CPA, Target ROAS, and Maximize Clicks, but not Manual CPC, Viewable Impressions, or Pay for Conversions. Bid adjustments, seasonality adjustments, and portfolio bidding are also not available.
Business Data feeds, uploaded HTML5 ads, and third-party ads aren’t supported yet, though Google plans to add HTML5 and third-party ad support by late 2026. Brand Lift and Search Lift studies are not available for Google Display Network inventory within Demand Gen campaigns.
This transition does not mean the disappearance of the Google Display Network itself. Instead, Display becomes a managed component within Demand Gen, as confirmed by multiple industry sources describing the change as moving campaigns 'inside the house' of Demand Gen rather than shutting down the network.
For marketers watching industry changes, this move is similar to other recent Google updates, like the introduction of link carousels in AI Mode for trending topics, which expanded content discovery for users. For more on these changes, see this analysis of how Google’s AI Mode is reshaping content visibility.
What Demand Gen offers
Demand Gen expands reach by tapping into the Discover network and Maps, and brings new ad formats and generative image tools. Google continues to update Demand Gen, and advertisers should keep an eye on several recent changes.
Lookalike Audiences, once a strict targeting method, shifted to "audience suggestions" in March 2026. Google now uses seed lists as signals for its AI models, which broadens reach beyond traditional similarity rules. There’s a delay of up to 96 hours for new Lookalike segments to populate.
In April, Google added view-through-conversion optimization for Demand Gen, letting campaigns optimize for users who see but don’t click on YouTube or Discover ads and later convert. This can help advertisers with low direct conversion volumes. For Demand Gen campaigns running on Discover with this optimization, billing will switch from CPC to CPM, as announced in July.
Demand Gen is also testing new YouTube affiliate video integrations, allowing organic affiliate content to be used in campaigns. This feature is in limited testing for now.
Preparing for the transition
Since there’s no set date for automatic migration, advertisers are encouraged to migrate before Q4 to give campaigns time to stabilize before peak season. Build Lookalike Audiences early, since they take time to populate. Marketers should also plan for the loss of advanced bid adjustments and portfolio bidding.
While the end of standalone Display campaigns may be disruptive for long-time users, Demand Gen’s new features and testing options open up more room for creative experimentation and broader reach. Now is the time to adjust strategies and adapt to these changes.
Strategic shift ahead
The move from Display to Demand Gen is more than a technical update. It marks a real change in how automated media buying works. As Google rolls out new billing models and AI-powered creative tools, marketers will need to stay flexible, especially in audience development and performance testing before high-traffic periods.
Approaching this migration as a chance to improve intent-based targeting and creative strategy can help advertisers succeed as the platform evolves.
Google, founded in 1998 and now part of Alphabet Inc., reported $307 billion in revenue for 2025, with advertising making up over 75% of total earnings. The Google Ads platform serves millions of advertisers worldwide, and its ongoing shift toward AI-powered campaigns shows the company’s continued investment in automation and machine learning to drive performance at scale.
