In 2025, Google is enhancing its advertising solutions in key areas, benefiting many advertisers. There are numerous updates for Performance Max and Demand Gen campaigns. For Performance Max, there are better AI-driven campaign controls, more detailed search campaign reports, and improved asset group reports. Demand Gen campaigns will have new report columns, video optimizations including full-screen ads in Shorts, decision options for ad placements, cross-platform performance comparisons, and better shopping offers through product feeds and local deals.
Google has introduced these updates shortly after launching a model to simplify campaign analysis and budget planning. For Performance Max, improvements include better reports, recommendations, and control. Tal Akabas, Director of Product Management for Google Ads, explains the new features for Performance Max campaigns, which are now heavily supported by AI. Marketers can optimize AI campaigns by differentiating customer acquisition goals based on customer life cycles. This allows advertisers to identify customers with potentially higher lifetime value using Customer Match and AI prediction and target them with higher bids.
Reports are now available at the campaign level, allowing advertisers to see how many new customers their campaign generates and how many have high revenue potential. Brand exclusions in various ad formats are extended to text ads in the search network. Those who manage shopping ads on brand terms but handle text ads differently can use this option. Google also extends “URL contains” rules to product feeds, allowing targeted page alignments in campaigns, such as pages with specific terms in the URL, like “shoes.” Two new beta versions aim to make campaigns more precise: age category targeting (e.g., 18 to 24 years) and device targeting focused on computer, mobile, or tablet traffic.
Improved analysis is made possible by these control updates, along with better reports and recommendations. Search topics were particularly in demand. According to Akabas, words and phrases can be added to campaigns that users might search for in relation to the advertisers’ offers. Thanks to extensive feedback from marketers, Google officially introduces search topics with significant improvements. Advertisers can determine from search term statistics whether search queries come from targeting without keywords in the Performance Max campaign or from added search topics.
Google also shows with an indicator in the statistics whether the search topics are relevant or need revision. Additionally, Google provides better reports for asset groups. Advertisers can now segment asset group performance across all Performance Max campaigns and categorize conversions by device or time. Furthermore, asset group performance data can now be downloaded for use outside of new campaigns.
For Demand Gen campaigns, introduced in 2023, there are several updates. Nicky Rettke, Vice President of Product Management for YouTube Ads, highlights the advertising on YouTube, which reportedly offers a 2.3 times higher ROAS than paid ads on social networks, according to Nielsen data. Starting in March, advertisers can decide where their Demand Gen ads are displayed, whether on YouTube, Discover, or Gmail. Google Display Network inventory is also available, and explicit Shorts placement is an option. From the end of February, advertisers can also display vertical ads in full-screen in Shorts. Google will roll out new features for quick creation of short videos and short versions of ad videos in the coming weeks.
Advertisers using Google’s video action campaigns should consider switching to Demand Gen for more ROAS and control options. All remaining video action campaigns in Google Ads will automatically switch to Demand Gen from July, although it may take some months to complete, and not all accounts will switch simultaneously.
For retail businesses, Google offers two significant updates to boost sales, both online and offline. Advertisers with a Google Merchant Center account can use product feeds in Demand Gen campaigns within a few weeks. Potential customers can view product details directly through the ads and switch to detail pages in the ad. Advertisers can also integrate local offers, showing in-store availability in real-time. These ads can potentially be optimized further with omni-channel bids for online sales and store visits. Both options are initially available in beta.
To provide more control over ad performance on different platforms, a rollout of new report columns is happening worldwide. These columns will allow comparisons to paid ads on social media, introducing metrics like view-through conversions, similar to views on Instagram and Facebook. Ginny Marvin from Google Ads Liaison summarizes the updates on X.
These innovations for Performance Max and Demand Gen campaigns give advertisers more flexibility for successful ads in the Google ecosystem. Google’s advertising revenue will inevitably rise from 2025. To optimally measure various campaigns on Google, Google’s open-source Marketing Mix Model Meridian is also recommended. The company introduced it in 2024, with the rollout following this week.