Google Adds New Image Generation Tool in Demand Gen

Creativity can only go so far when you’re working with a limited library of images for your ads. Luckily, Google is helping advertisers push past these limits and unlock new ways to enhance visual storytelling in their Demand Gen campaigns.

With the help of Google AI, Google brings generative AI image generation tools to Demand Gen ads, giving advertisers new and creative ways to drive the interest of their target consumers.

Putting this upgrade into perspective, Google Ads Vice President and General Manager Michael Levinson highlights, “Advertisers need to diversify their creative strategy with multi-format ads to keep audiences engaged and deliver results.”

What is Demand Gen

Google’s Demand Gen is a relatively new tool for advertisers, just debuting last year. Its main goal is to connect advertisers with more targeted leads on Google platforms, including YouTube and Discovery, to help potential customers get into a buying mindset.

Unlike other Google Ads formats, it leverages imagery. Since it's designed to drive interest and push consumers down the funnel, Demand Gen is the perfect avenue for advertisers to use their eye-catching ad campaign visuals.

What’s new in Demand Gen

In April 2024, Google introduced a native generative AI image generation tool in Demand Gen, allowing advertisers to easily create attention-grabbing ads outside their existing library.

This generative AI tool works just like other generative AI applications—just type in what you want, and it creates it for you. If you’ve tried generative AI models like Midjourney, Adobe Firefly, or DALL-E, you know just how it works.
This update isn’t just for creating images from scratch. If you’ve already got some great images but want to enhance them, you can use the “Generate more like this” feature to replicate the style and come up with new, more out-of-the-box image options for your ads.

What it means for advertisers

This generative AI capabilities update is deemed an asset for advertisers, as they can tap into more creative options for their visuals and engage their audience in new ways.

On top of that, it helps save time and resources. If they need something fast or are working with a limited team for their Google Ads campaign, they can easily put together a quick, effective ad within the platform.

Rooted in privacy

While this generative artificial intelligence model creates images for your ads, you have the final say in what gets selected for the final ad. Google makes it clear that you’ll have complete authority there.

Now, if you’re concerned about ending up with visuals similar to your competitors, don’t be. Google guarantees that their AI won’t generate identical images. They also emphasize that this new Demand Gen artificial intelligence feature is rooted in privacy and fairness, just like all their other technologies.

What’s interesting is that these generative AI images come with identifiable markings, like an open-standard markup and a hidden digital watermark that can’t easily be tampered with.

This technology has the potential to help advertisers create more effective Demand Gen campaigns. That said, businesses should still exercise caution when using this new AI technology.