What happens to my Google Display campaigns when they move to Demand Gen?
TofuAnswer by the Tofu team · checked
They become Demand Gen campaigns that can still run only on the Google Display Network. Since June 2026, Google has been rolling out a migration tool that moves a campaign's settings and 42 days of performance history. Later, new Display campaigns can only be created in Demand Gen and the rest move automatically, with the transition expected to finish by 2027. Some things don't carry over: Manual CPC, viewable CPM, pay for conversions, bid adjustments, portfolio bidding, shared budgets and lead form assets. Campaign-level content exclusions must move to account level. A migration can't be undone.
As of October 2026.
What changed
| Display campaign (before) | Demand Gen with the Display Network (now) | |
|---|---|---|
| Where ads can run | Display Network, YouTube, Gmail | Display Network, YouTube, Gmail, Discover, Maps (Beta). Migrated campaigns start on the Display Network only. |
| Bidding | Max conversions, max conversion value, Target CPA, Target ROAS, max clicks, Manual CPC, viewable impressions, pay for conversions | Max conversions, max conversion value, Target CPA, Target ROAS, max clicks, Target CPC. Google suggests Target CPC in place of Manual CPC, max clicks in place of viewable impressions, and Target CPA in place of pay for conversions. |
| Bid adjustments, seasonality adjustments, portfolio bidding | Available | Not supported |
| Budgets | Shared budgets allowed | Each campaign needs its own budget |
| Content suitability exclusions | Campaign or account level | Account level only |
| Audiences | Combined audiences, hard targeting by household income and parental status, observation mode | Combined audiences and observation (for non-demographics) not supported; income and parental status work only as soft signals. Lookalike segments are added. |
| Ad formats | Responsive display ads, uploaded image, HTML5 and GIF ads | Responsive display ads, uploaded static image ads, carousel and video ads. HTML5 uploads and third-party ads are "coming soon," planned for late 2026. |
| Lead form and click-to-call assets | Supported | Not supported |
| Business logo | Optional | Required (the tool adds a placeholder if you have none) |
| Lift studies | Conversion Lift | Conversion Lift is supported. Brand Lift and Search Lift are not supported for the Display Network in Demand Gen. |
Google says that, on average, advertisers who add the Display Network to Demand Gen campaigns see a 9.5% increase in ROI (Google internal data, global, August 2025). That is Google's own figure, not an independent test.
Who it affects
Every advertiser with campaigns of the type "Display" in Google Ads. Paused and enabled campaigns can be migrated, depending on how recently they spent. Removed campaigns are not migrated.
B2B accounts feel it most if they use Display lead form assets, shared budgets across Display campaigns, or campaign-level content exclusions for brand safety. All three stop the migration tool until you change them. Accounts that rely on Manual CPC also lose it, because Demand Gen doesn't offer it.
You can ignore this change if you only run Search, Performance Max or existing Demand Gen campaigns. Search campaigns that show ads on the Display Network have a separate change coming in February 2027 (channel prioritization), which this migration doesn't cover.
What to do now
- Find your Display campaigns. In Google Ads, go to Campaigns, select the filter button, open Attributes, choose Campaign type, check "Display," and select Apply. Include paused campaigns.
- Clear the blockers. Remove lead form assets, ad group bid modifiers, unsupported ad group exclusions and product filters. Opt back into native formats if you turned them off. Give each campaign its own budget. Remove campaign-level content exclusions and set them at account level. Remove old-style disclaimers and custom promo text, add a logo, and add a call to action to campaigns that use click-to-call assets.
- Decide on bidding that won't carry over. Demand Gen has no Manual CPC; Google lists Target CPC as the alternative. For pay for conversions, change the payment event from conversions to interactions first; Google says the migrated campaign then uses Target CPA.
- Time it right. Wait at least 4 hours after any edit before you migrate. Don't migrate a campaign in the middle of a Conversion Lift study, because the new campaign won't be linked to it.
- Migrate with the tool, not by copying. Select campaigns in the filtered table, open Edit, and choose Upgrade to Demand Gen. Google doesn't recommend more than 100 campaigns in one batch. It also says an identical copy you build by hand may struggle to ramp up, because the original keeps the performance history.
- Check the results. Migrated campaigns are named "[Original name] #2," keep their paused or enabled status, and carry the labels "Pasted as Demand Gen." The original is set to Removed but stays in reports. Your ads go through review again. Budget spent earlier on migration day isn't counted, so the new campaign can spend a full day's budget on top.
- Give it time before you judge. Google expects 1 to 2 days of learning with the tool and some swings in the first several days. It suggests keeping the campaign on the Display Network only at first, then changing bids by no more than 15% and waiting a week between changes.
- Plan creative for Demand Gen. Uploaded display ads there must be still JPG, PNG or GIF files of 150 KB or less; animation isn't supported. If you rely on HTML5, you may want to leave those campaigns on Display until HTML5 arrives in Demand Gen. Google's uploaded display ads specs page already describes HTML5 ads in Demand Gen serving only on the Display Network, which doesn't match the migration page, so check your account.
Dates to watch
| Date | What happens |
|---|---|
| May 26, 2026 | Google announces that Display campaigns are moving into Demand Gen |
| June 2026 | Phased rollout of the migration tool begins for eligible advertisers |
| Late 2026 (planned) | HTML5 uploads and third-party ads come to Demand Gen |
| Not yet dated ("coming later") | New Display campaigns can only be created in Demand Gen |
| Not yet dated ("coming later") | Remaining eligible Display campaigns move automatically, with no action from you |
| By 2027 | Google expects the transition to be complete |
Google says it will send account notifications as these dates get close. It has not published a date for the end of new Display campaigns.
Where Tofu fits
Tofu Ads Agent (our product) builds Google Display campaigns and makes display creative in up to 24 sizes from your brand fonts, colors and logos, with every element as an editable layer. Campaigns are staged switched off in your own account until a person turns them on. Tofu doesn't build Demand Gen campaigns or run Google's migration tool for you. You migrate in Google Ads.
Sources (5)
- Google Display Ads has a new home in Demand Gen, checked October 23, 2026
- Google Display Ads campaigns have a new home in Demand Gen, checked October 23, 2026
- About image assets specifications and ad format guidelines for Demand Gen campaigns, checked October 23, 2026
- About channel prioritization and budget allocation, checked October 23, 2026
- Uploaded display ads specifications, checked October 23, 2026