Demand Gen vs Discovery Campaigns: What the Rename Changed
In short: These aren't really two live options to choose between - Discovery is the retired name for what is now called Demand Gen. Demand Gen is the current, actively supported campaign type, and it added native video formats and expanded segment options on top of what Discovery offered. Discovery survives only in old documentation, historic reporting rows, and agency habit; Google migrated existing Discovery campaigns into Demand Gen automatically. If you're building a feed-based campaign today, it's Demand Gen by default - Discovery only matters when you're reading or translating older material.
By the AdFlint research team · Fact-checked against current Google and Meta platform behavior · Last reviewed July 2026
Demand Gen Campaigns
Serves image and video ads across YouTube, Shorts, Discover, and Gmail using audience segments rather than keywords, inside Google's feed-based browsing inventory.
You load images and video, choose first-party or lookalike segments, and pick a conversion or click goal; Google places ads in feeds people browse rather than search. The type replaced Discovery campaigns and absorbed Video Action campaigns. Advertisers use it to create demand upstream of search. The mistake is expecting search-level intent and cutting it before view-through and assisted effects are measured.
Full definitionDiscovery Campaigns
Legacy label for Google's feed-based image campaigns on Discover, Gmail, and YouTube, since renamed and expanded into Demand Gen campaigns.
These ran image ads in Google's browsing feeds with audience targeting and conversion bidding. Google renamed the type Demand Gen, added video formats, lookalike segments, and better creative controls, migrating existing campaigns automatically. You will still meet the old name in agency decks, older help articles, and API references. Treat advice written for it as directional, since creative specs and reporting surfaces changed.
Full definitionSide by side.
The differences that actually change what happens in your account.
| Demand Gen Campaigns | Discovery Campaigns | |
|---|---|---|
| Can you create one today | Yes, it is the current campaign type for feed-based placements. | No, Google removed the ability to create new Discovery campaigns after the rename. |
| Ad formats supported | Image and video in the same campaign, having absorbed Video Action's formats too. | Image only, no native video support. |
| Targeting inputs | First-party data segments plus lookalike-style segment expansion off your own audiences. | Custom intent and affinity segments, plus Similar Audiences before Google sunset that feature. |
| What happened to existing campaigns | Received migrated Discovery campaigns automatically, keeping their core settings. | None remain standalone - every Discovery campaign was migrated into Demand Gen. |
| Where you'll still see the old name | Not in the current campaign builder for new campaigns. | Agency decks, older case studies, and historic report rows from before the migration. |
| Reporting continuity | Current and post-migration performance reports under the Demand Gen label. | Pre-migration performance in longer lookback reports may still carry the old campaign label. |
| Risk in following old material | Not applicable - current documentation matches the current interface. | Creative specs and targeting steps written for Discovery may not match what's available now. |
What actually separates them.
Discovery campaigns cannot be created anymore, so any Discovery-labeled campaign still active in an account is one Google auto-migrated rather than one built new.
Demand Gen added native video ad formats and absorbed placements that used to require a separate Video Action campaign, so a single campaign now covers image and video creative that Discovery handled with images only.
Demand Gen's segment options, including lookalike-style expansion off first-party data, replaced and extended Discovery's custom intent and affinity targeting, so audience-building steps described in older Discovery tutorials will not match the current interface.
Because migration happened at the account level rather than erasing history, some longer-lookback reports and exports still carry the Discovery label on rows from before the switch, even though the campaign has run as Demand Gen since then.
Creative specs and placement lists documented for Discovery are directional at best, since Demand Gen expanded the available inventory, so following an old spec sheet risks uploading assets that don't fit the formats available now.
Which one should you use?
Use Demand Gen Campaigns when
- You're building any new feed-based campaign today - it's the only option available for this inventory.
- You want image and video creative running in the same campaign instead of split across campaign types.
- You want to use lookalike-style segment expansion built off your first-party data.
- You're reviewing a live account and see campaigns labeled Demand Gen that used to be Discovery - that's the migration having already happened, not an error.
Use Discovery Campaigns when
- You're reading an agency proposal, case study, or blog post written before the rename and need to translate it to Demand Gen.
- You're pulling a long-lookback report and see historic rows labeled Discovery from before the account migrated.
- You're auditing an old account structure and find campaign names or internal notes referencing Discovery that now run as Demand Gen underneath.
- You're troubleshooting why a creative spec or targeting option from an old tutorial doesn't appear - it was likely written for Discovery and never updated.
Common questions.
Can I still create a Discovery campaign?
No. Google migrated Discovery campaigns into Demand Gen and removed the ability to create new ones under the old type. Any campaign you build today for feed-based placements will be a Demand Gen campaign.
What happened to my old Discovery campaigns?
They were automatically migrated into Demand Gen, generally keeping their audience and budget settings intact. You may still see Discovery referenced in historic reporting rows or older account notes, but the live campaign now runs under Demand Gen's structure.
Is Demand Gen just Discovery with a new name?
Not exactly. It kept Discovery's feed placements and audience-first approach but added native video formats, absorbed what Video Action campaigns did, and expanded segment options, so it's a broader campaign type built on the same core idea.
Why does an old guide tell me to do something I can't find in Demand Gen?
The guide was likely written for Discovery before the rename. Treat creative specs, targeting steps, and placement lists in pre-migration material as directional only, and check them against what's actually in the campaign builder now.
Or stop choosing between them.
AdFlint picks the setting, writes the ads, and keeps optimizing inside the Google and Meta accounts you already own.