5 min read
Demand Gen Asset Automation Controls
Choose creative enhancement settings deliberately, inspect the versions customers see, and distinguish performance labels from AI disclosures.
The important question is not whether a Demand Gen ad uses AI. It is what Google can change after you supply the creative. Automatic enhancements, suggestions you accept, and tools you deliberately use have different controls. Review those choices against your actual product and brand requirements, not a blanket rule to enable or disable everything.
Three kinds of automation, and where each is controlled
Start with the individual ad's settings. The controls below cover Demand Gen's documented enhancements and creation tools. Do not borrow a campaign-level Performance Max workflow and assume it controls a Demand Gen ad.
| Kind | What Google documents | Control |
|---|---|---|
| Video enhancements | Creates alternative orientations or shorter versions of an uploaded video. | On by default for new campaigns; review the video's Asset optimization checkboxes. |
| Auto-generated video ads | Builds video from supplied image and text assets. | On by default for new campaigns; the image ad's Videos checkbox controls it. |
| Image enhancements | Adaptive layouts and animated variants. | Ad-level Asset optimization controls. Enhanced versions are not guaranteed to be produced. |
| Landing page preview | Adds a screenshot beneath a video ad. | Review the option in the Final URL card. |
| Pre-generated videos and text suggestions | Material offered during ad creation. | Review and choose what to use; inspect selections before publishing. |
| Image generation and editing | A new image or a deliberate edit. | You initiate these tools in the media picker or Asset library. |
AI disclosures are separate from performance labels
Google's July 2026 policy update addresses disclosures for certain AI-generated or edited advertising assets in the European Union, India and New York. It allows labels in the creative or through Google's AI label setting, and explicitly warns that using the setting does not guarantee compliance with every applicable regulation. Check the linked policy and obtain appropriate legal guidance for the markets where the ad serves.
Do not confuse that disclosure with a performance label such as Low or Best. One concerns how the creative was made; the other concerns reporting. Knowing an image's performance rating does not tell you whether it has the required AI disclosure.
What to check when the toggles are on
Preview what actually exists. A checkbox being enabled does not prove Google produced a variant, and an acceptable source image does not prove every crop or animation is acceptable. Read the price and qualifier together, check product proportions, and make sure a generated scene does not imply a feature the product lacks.
Consider a hypothetical furniture ad. The original image clearly shows a two-seat sofa. An attractive generated setting makes it look like a three-seat model, while an adaptive layout separates the monthly payment from its financing conditions. Higher CTR would not resolve either problem. Correct the presentation before testing whether it performs better.
For a different ad, a faithful vertical adaptation might be exactly what the team needs. It could let the same idea work on a phone without a second production shoot. Judge the output, not the presence of automation.
Performance evaluation comes after those checks. Compare meaningful outcomes over a suitable period and account for changes in budget, audience, offer and conversion delay. The report can help identify which versions served; it cannot, on its own, prove that the enhancement caused a campaign-level change.
Asset optimization for a Demand Gen image ad
- Campaigns
- Demand Gen campaign
- Ad group
- Ad
- Media
- Asset optimization
Deciding per ad
Leave a control on when you want its additional formats and the resulting creative represents the product accurately. Turn it off when the transformation conflicts with the work: for example, a precisely composed product image that must not be rearranged. A frequently changing landing page also deserves special attention before its screenshot appears in an ad.
After changing a setting, inspect the resulting ad again. That is different from waiting to measure performance. A correct setting and a commercially successful creative are two separate things to establish.
Questions and answers
Which Demand Gen creative automations are on by default?
Google documents several default-on enhancements for new campaigns, including video adaptations, auto-generated video ads and image enhancements. Check the controls on the actual ad; suggestions and manually initiated generation are separate choices.
Do AI-generated assets in Demand Gen need a label?
Google's policy update says regulations in the European Union, India and New York require disclosures or labels on ads with certain AI-generated or edited assets, and offers an asset-level AI label setting alongside labels placed in the creative. Google notes the setting does not itself guarantee compliance; the policy page is the reference.
Can Parallel turn a Demand Gen enhancement off?
The current tools reviewed here do not write the enhancement toggles or AI-disclosure setting. Parallel can help review available evidence and draft supported ad or status changes; change those toggles in Google Ads.