Google quietly changed how brands find buyers who are ready to convert
Google has shifted the battleground from answering intent to creating it.
For years, search ads rewarded brands that showed up after a buyer already knew what they wanted. By that point, the buyer is comparing options, prices, and reviews. Competition is high, costs are high, and differentiation is thin.
Demand Gen changes that dynamic.
Instead of waiting for a search query, Demand Gen places brands in front of people before they search—while they are scrolling, watching, and mentally evaluating options. These users may not know your brand yet, but they are already in consideration mode.
The moment before search
Modern buying journeys are not linear. People do not move cleanly from awareness to search to purchase.
The real path looks more like this:
Passive exposure while scrolling or watching
Emotional resonance — something catches attention
Mental shortlisting — the brand is remembered
Search or direct visit
Conversion
Search ads only operate at step four.
Demand Gen is designed to influence steps one through three—where preferences are formed and options are filtered before a click ever happens.
Where Demand Gen operates
Demand Gen runs across Google’s most influential discovery surfaces:
YouTube Shorts
In‑stream YouTube video
Google Discover
Google feed placements
These are lean‑back environments. People are not actively looking for answers. They are open to ideas.
That distinction matters.
Why Demand Gen is different from display advertising
Traditional display advertising interrupts attention.
Demand Gen builds narrative.
It combines:
Video to create emotion and memorability
Images to anchor visual recognition
Text to frame meaning and intent
All of this is guided by behavioral and intent signals, not broad demographic guessing. The result is storytelling with performance‑level targeting.
The strategic implication for brands
Brands that rely only on search:
Compete late in the buying cycle
Fight on price and urgency
Pay the highest cost per click
Inherit demand instead of shaping it
Brands that use Demand Gen:
Influence preference before comparison begins
Enter the buyer’s mental shortlist early
Reduce reliance on expensive bottom‑of‑funnel clicks
The takeaway
Search captures existing demand.
Demand Gen creates it.
Brands that understand this shift will feel present long before a prospect ever types a query into a search bar.
