Google's Demand Gen now powers Shoppable
CTV that enables viewers to browse and purchase products while watching YouTube ads on TV.
After first teasing the forthcoming shoppable formats at Google Marketing Live 2025, YouTube
began rolling them out on Thursday.
The ad format is available through its platform Display & Video 360 (DV360) and serve up through Google's Smart TV app.
Google Merchant
Center (GMC) supports the advertising format through Google Performance Max and Demand Gen campaigns.
The shopping connected TV (CTV) ads pull images and product data from an
advertiser’s Google Merchant Center (GMC) account product feed, and then turns them into a clickable carousel with QR codes that link to each individual item. Amazon already uses QR codes on
some of its ads running on CTV.
Asset and technical requirements for the Shoppable CTV ads
found on Google's help page specify that product images must be 500 x 500 pixels or larger in the advertiser's Google Merchant Center catalog. The video format length is non-skippable 15-second ads that are often required for specific CTV placements like Google TV.
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Google has also announced the rollout of Attributed Branded Searches for Demand Gen. The company describes it as a conversion metrics in Google Ads that's designed to measure how upper-funnel
campaigns like Demand Gen influence user interest. It shows the volume of a campaign’s branded searches on Google and YouTube.
YouTube CEO Neal Mohan pointed out in a blog
published Wednesday that Google will continue to invest in YouTube's capabilities, from CTV shoppable ads to video ad features to content creation and creators. After all, he notes, that "while
technology unlocks new creative possibilities, it’s YouTube creators and artists who are leading the way to reinvent entertainment."
He notes that from niche interests to global trends, viewers find what they want to see on Shorts, which now averages 200
billion daily views. This year, YouTube plans to bring more variety to Shorts by integrating different formats -- like image posts -- directly into the feed, making it easier to stay connected with
favorite creators.
Google today also introduced "Travel Feeds" in Demand Gen, making it easier to connect with a brand's Hotel Center feed to build dynamic video ads featuring hotel pricing, ratings and availability.
Demand Gen also has worked to help advertisers like LG Electronics drive performance, achieving a 24% higher conversion rate than its paid social campaigns
while reaching high-valued customers at a 91% lower cost per acquisition (CPA).