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Demand Gen gets a chat agent for YouTube ads and one-tap ads in Shorts
Publication date: 24.09.2026
Key points
- September's Demand Gen Drop brings three things: a chat agent next to YouTube video ads, one-click ads in Shorts and Gmail, and Promoted pins in Google Maps for retail networks.
- Google says adding Gmail to Demand Gen campaigns lifts image conversions by 40% on average at the same ROI.
- The chat agent is available by sign-up form for now, and the announcement does not say which regions get it.
YouTube and Google Ads have released a September batch of Demand Gen updates. It is described on the official Google Ads & Commerce blog, where the company calls the batch a "Drop" and launches a separate hub for such updates. There are three items, and they touch different places: video, Shorts with Gmail, and maps.
+40%the lift in image conversions Google claims for Demand Gen campaigns after adding Gmail, at the same ROI.
A chat with a business agent beside the video ad
The most interesting item is Business Agent for YouTube ads. A viewer can ask a conversational AI next to the video and get product information from the connected product feed without leaving the video. In other words, the product feed from Merchant Center now works not only for listings and Shopping but also as a knowledge base for chat answers.
Access is closed for now: to try it, you need to leave a request through a form. Google gives no performance numbers, so at this stage it is an experiment opportunity rather than a proven format. For stores with a clean feed it looks like a logical extension of the work already done for YouTube advertising.
One tap in Shorts and Gmail
In Shorts, a user taps the image and lands directly on the landing page. That requires uploading full-bleed vertical creatives in 9:16. In Gmail, Google simplified how ads appear in a channel that already performs well. According to the company, advertisers who add Gmail to their Demand Gen campaigns see image creatives achieve a 40% increase in conversions on average, at the same ROI.
Read the number with care: it is an average from Google's internal data, with no breakdown by industry or budget. Checking it on your own campaigns is easy, though: compare groups with and without Gmail over the same period. Vertical 9:16 images are worth preparing in advance, since they will serve other placements too.
Promoted pins for chains and dealers in Google Maps
The third item concerns anyone with many locations: affiliate location extensions let retail networks and dealerships show Promoted pins across Google Maps. The pin appears when a person searches, browses the map or navigates. For Ukrainian car dealers and store chains the format looks natural, though the announcement does not say in which countries it works.
| Item | Where it appears | Best suited to |
|---|---|---|
| Business Agent | next to YouTube video ads | stores with a product feed |
| One tap from an image | Shorts and Gmail | advertisers with vertical 9:16 creatives |
| Promoted pins | Google Maps | chains and dealers |
Overall the batch suggests that Demand Gen looks less and less like display with video and more like a separate channel with its own path to purchase. It will be interesting to see how much of this reaches us as announced, and how fast, since the announcement says nothing about regions.
