Google Ads will move Demand Gen Display targeting to ad groups

Google announced on November 9 that it will change where advertisers control serving on the Google Display Network in Demand Gen campaigns. In the week that includes December 1, 2026, Display targeting will move to the ad group level. Google will adapt existing configurations that exclude Display at campaign level, with the stated aim of preserving serving behavior.

Why the level of the setting matters

Demand Gen supports channel selection at ad group level. Google documents surfaces including YouTube, Discover, Gmail, Maps and the Google Display Network. In the previous configuration, however, a campaign could exclude Display even if a group selected it. The effective decision depended on two levels, with the campaign-level exclusion taking precedence.

Google will leave the campaign field target_content_network enabled by default when a Demand Gen campaign is created. In the announcement, the company explains that the ad group will determine whether Display is actually among its eligible channels. In the default configuration described for the transition, the ad group continues to exclude the Display Network unless the advertiser selects it. The enabled campaign value alone does not describe where the ads will appear.

The change also applies to operations through the Google Ads API. Once it takes effect, a request to create or update a Demand Gen campaign that explicitly sets the campaign field to false will be rejected. The API will report that the operation is not permitted in that context. For applications that send the same configuration to several accounts, the difference becomes apparent when they try to save the campaign, before it can be used to serve ads.

How existing campaigns will be converted

Google describes four cases for existing campaigns that have Display disabled at campaign level. If a group already excludes Display in its own configuration, only the campaign setting changes. The ad group keeps its existing selection. If a group uses the all channels strategy, it will move to the strategy for channels owned and operated by Google. This preserves the ad group's exclusion of the Display Network.

For a group that has Display among several manually selected channels, Google will explicitly disable Display in the group's list. The group's other selections remain in place. This conversion moves the restriction previously applied by the campaign into the setting that determines serving. A channel selected in the ad group can then be interpreted without first applying the previous restriction from the level above it.

The distinct case is an ad group configured to use only Display in a campaign that excluded it. The group did not serve under that combination. Removing its only channel would leave the group with no active channel, which Demand Gen does not support. Google says it will pause those groups and keep their channel selections. The paused status preserves the effect of the previous configuration on serving.

Ad group strategies and individual selections

The API documentation distinguishes selecting a strategy from selecting individual channels. The strategy for Google-owned and operated channels excludes third-party inventory, including the Display Network. In individual selection mode, selected_channels sets the state of each channel. The two modes are alternatives in the configuration of a single group. An ad group intended exclusively for YouTube Shorts can enable just that option in the individual list.

When an individual selection is updated through the API, Google requires the request to state each channel's setting explicitly. This matters when an integration keeps some channels in place and changes only the Display option. For example, the same campaign can have one ad group set to serve on Shorts and another set up for Discover and Gmail. A single campaign-level indicator would not describe both group configurations.

YouTube in-stream, in-feed and Shorts video formats have separate entries in the channel list. Google's help documentation also notes that other settings can restrict serving. For instance, a YouTube engagement campaign stays on YouTube inventory, and serving on Maps depends on an eligible location asset. A channel selection describes the configured option. Actual impressions appear in reporting segmented by network and, for YouTube, by format.

What the API configuration check shows

In the Google Ads interface, the help documentation describes manual channel selection and an automatic option for Google channels, with a separate choice to include the Display Network. The interface estimate also takes the selected audience and other campaign settings into account. In reporting, network segmentation is available at campaign, group and ad level. A team can therefore see impressions for a particular ad even though the channel preference is set for its entire group.

For existing campaigns, Google points to a check on the ad group resource. A configuration report can bring together the campaign identifier, group status, channel selection mode and individual values for YouTube, Discover, Gmail and Display. In an account with differently configured groups, the combination shows where the strategy changed, where Display was explicitly disabled, and where a group was paused.

Google says moving control to the group level aligns the way channels are represented in the API, the Google Ads interface and Google Ads Editor. For converted campaigns, visible changes to the configuration will reflect the transfer of a restriction that was already in effect. Configuration and serving reports remain distinct. One describes channel selections and group status, while the other shows which networks recorded impressions.