Google has quietly rolled out an important update to Custom Labels in Google Ads, and if you’re running Demand Gen campaigns, this one’s for you.
What Changed?
Custom Labels in Google Ads have traditionally been available for Performance Max and Standard Shopping campaigns. But as of now, Google has expanded support to include Demand Gen campaigns as well.
This is a great update for advertisers who want more granular control over which products they push to broader audiences through Demand Gen.
Demand Gen campaigns are designed to reach potential customers across Google’s discovery surfaces, think YouTube, Gmail, and the Discover feed. By combining this reach with the precision of Custom Labels, you can now:
- Segment your product feed strategically for Demand Gen
- Target specific products to the right audiences at scale
- Control your messaging based on product attributes like margin, seasonality, or performance tier
This gives advertisers a much tighter grip on what gets promoted and to whom, without relying on Google’s automation to figure it out on its own.
What About AI Max?
There’s also another campaign type that uses Shopping ads, AI Max. However, Custom Labels are not yet supported for AI Max, as it’s still in beta and not widely available. That said, once AI Max officially launches for Shopping ads, it’s reasonable to expect Custom Labels support will follow.
We’ll keep an eye on that and update you when it happens.
How to Use Custom Labels with Demand Gen
If you’re not already using Custom Labels, here’s the basic idea:
- Define your labels assign values (0–4) to products in your feed based on criteria that matter to your business (e.g., “high-margin”, “bestseller”, “seasonal”)
- Apply them in your feed update your product feed in Google Merchant Center with the custom label values
- Use them in your Demand Gen campaign segment your product groups using those labels to control which products are shown