Google Ads introduced the Demand Gen campaign type in August 2023. At first glance, it doesn’t seem all that different from Google’s Display Ad campaign type. You can upload your own banner graphics and utilize responsive display ads or video ads.

The ads appear in similar inventory, such as Gmail and YouTube. However, the major difference is that Demand Gen campaigns don’t show your ads on third-party sites and apps that partner with Google through the AdSense program.

Another significant difference with Demand Gen campaigns is the ability to use lookalike segments. Currently, it’s the only campaign type that allows this. While Performance Max (Pmax) offers a similar feature, it doesn’t give you the option to exclusively target a lookalike segment. Pmax uses first-party audience data as a signal to find similar users, but it isn’t restricted to that audience.

I can see Demand Gen being a strong alternative to Display Ads in many situations, as it’s likely to generate higher-quality traffic. While this will probably come at a higher cost, if the traffic converts better, paying more per click could be well worth it.

That said, I still wouldn’t recommend running Demand Gen campaigns for most businesses unless they’ve already maximized their Search Ad Campaign spend. An exception would be ecommerce businesses, where it makes sense to run Demand Gen campaigns alongside Pmax and possibly a Search Ad Campaign.