Google Ads campaign types and when each fits

This guide is built from Google Ads Help, mainly Choose the right campaign type, About campaign objectives in Google Ads and the pages linked in each section. It is a chooser, not a manual: each type has its own guide on our site, linked below, so the detail is not repeated here.

Objective first, then campaign type

When you create a campaign, Google Ads first asks for an objective such as Sales, Leads or Website traffic. The objective only filters and recommends; the campaign type is the real decision. Google's objectives page calls that choice "critical because it determines where customers view your ads, like Google Search, YouTube, or Google Display Network, as well as the settings and options available to you."

Three things from Google Ads Help are worth knowing before you click:

• The objective can be locked. Google says "You can’t edit marketing objectives" after creation for Performance Max, Demand Gen and Video campaigns. In some other campaigns you can add or remove an objective later.
• Not every type shows for every objective. If the type you want is missing, or Performance Max is the only option, Google's advice is to select Create a campaign without a goal's guidance: "This will reveal all available campaign types".
• Search still needs a conversion goal. In Create a Search campaign, Google notes "At least one conversion goal is required to create a Search campaign even if you select Create a campaign without a goal’s guidance." Our conversion tracking guide covers setting one up.

The objective called "Awareness and consideration" now appears as "YouTube reach, views, and engagements" for new campaigns. Google says the objective itself "hasn’t changed".

The campaign types at a glance

The objectives column follows Google's objectives page; the other columns summarise the Google Ads Help pages linked in each section below.

Google's Performance Max page lists more objectives than the objectives table does: you can create one if your objective is "Sales", "Leads", "Website traffic", "Local store visits and promotions", or with no goal's guidance.

Search campaigns (and AI Max)

Google describes Search campaigns as "text ads on search results that let you reach people while they’re searching on Google for the products and services you offer." Setup is the lightest of all types: Google's own summary is "Write text ads and pick keywords" and "Skip special files or assets." That is also the trade-off Google names on the Search setup page: "Display, Shopping, and Video campaigns can also help you reach the same goals of sales, leads, and website traffic, but require additional assets like images, product feeds, and videos."

Per About the Google Search Network, Search ads can also appear on the Shopping tab, Google Images and Google Maps, and on search partner sites unless you turn them off (our search partners guide covers that choice).

AI Max is not a separate campaign type. It is a set of options you switch on inside a Search campaign: Google's AI Max page lists "improved search term matching, better text customization of your headlines and descriptions, and final URL expansion". Our AI Max guide explains each part. Keywords, match types and ad writing are in our guides to match types and responsive search ads.

Performance Max

Google calls Performance Max "a goal-based campaign type that allows you to access all Google Ads inventory, including YouTube, Display, Search, Discover, Gmail, and Maps, from a single campaign." You give it conversion goals, assets and optional audience signals, and Google AI decides where and to whom the ads show. Google recommends it when you have specific conversion goals, when you want to access all of Google's channels from one campaign without restricting where ads appear, and to increase reach and conversion value beyond keyword-based Search campaigns.

It is meant to sit next to Search, not replace it. Google states that "Search campaigns containing an exact match keyword are prioritized to serve over Performance Max when a query hits an exact match keyword. Search themes carry the same priority as phrase and broad match keywords." Assets, signals, URL expansion and reporting are in our Performance Max guide.

Demand Gen

Demand Gen campaigns "capture engagement and action across YouTube (including Shorts), Discover, Gmail, Maps, and the Google Display Network." Google's comparison table puts the difference in one line each: Search to "Maximize performance across Google Search", Performance Max to "Maximize performance across all of Google's channels and surfaces", and Demand Gen to "Generate demand and deliver business results on Google's most visual, entertaining surfaces". Unlike Performance Max, Demand Gen lets you pick audience segments (including Lookalike segments) and choose the channels your ads show on.

Ads in sensitive categories are limited in Demand Gen: Google says they are "generally restricted to YouTube inventory and are not eligible to serve on Gmail or the Google Display Network." Channels, audiences, assets and bidding are in our Demand Gen guide.

Display

Display campaigns reach people "as they browse millions of websites, apps, and Google-owned properties, such as YouTube", and can show ads to people who have visited your website or used your app. The type is changing. Per Google's Display campaigns have a new home in Demand Gen, a migration tool started rolling out in June 2026; later, "New Google Display Ads campaigns can only be created within Demand Gen", and remaining eligible campaigns "will be automatically migrated". Google also notes that migrated campaigns "can't be reverted back to Google Display Ads campaigns." If you are starting fresh, that points to Demand Gen. Our Display ads guide covers responsive display ads, targeting and the migration.

Shopping

Shopping campaigns are for retailers. Per About Shopping ads, they "use your existing Merchant Center product data (not keywords) to decide how and where to show your ads", and the ads show a product photo, title, price and store name. Google's chooser tip is direct: "To create a Shopping campaign, you'll first need to have a Merchant Center account where you can upload your product inventory."

The same product feed can also run in Performance Max: Google says retailers "can use Performance Max campaigns with a Merchant Center feed or Shopping campaigns to promote your online and local inventory". How the two compare, and how they share products, is in our Shopping campaigns guide.

Video

Video campaigns "let you show video ads on YouTube and other websites." Google's chooser lists subtypes for different goals: Drive conversions (also known as Video action campaigns), Video reach campaigns, Get views and Ad sequence. The formats, per About video ad formats, are skippable and non-skippable in-stream ads, in-feed video ads, bumper ads, masthead ads and YouTube Shorts ads. Before you start, Google says "You'll first need to create your video ad and upload it to YouTube." Subtypes, formats, costs and setup are in our YouTube video ads guide, and targeting in the YouTube ads targeting guide.

App

App campaigns promote an app across Search, Google Play, YouTube, Discover and the Google Display Network. You don't build individual ads: you "add a few lines of text, a bid, some assets", and Google combines them with assets from your store listing. There are three types, for installs, engagement and pre-registration. The requirement that rules most businesses in or out: you must "Have an app published on the Google Play Store or Apple App Store" (pre-registration campaigns promote apps "before they release on Google Play"). For the app itself, see our app development cost guide.

Smart campaigns

Google says Smart campaigns "help you highlight selling points of your business and attract customers." Per How Smart campaigns work, you write an ad, choose keyword themes and set a budget, and the ad shows "across Google Search, Google Maps, YouTube, Google partner websites, and the Google Display Network." There is a catch: "You can only create Smart Campaigns in Smart Mode. New and existing advertisers who aren't in Smart Mode are eligible for a variety of other campaigns." So if you don't see Smart campaigns in the list, your account isn't in Smart Mode.

How we choose

This part is our own practice, not Google guidance:

• If people already search for what a client sells, we start with Search. It needs no images or video and shows clearly which searches bring results.
• For retailers with a clean Merchant Center feed, we add Shopping or Performance Max with the feed, and keep exact match Search for the terms that matter most.
• We use Performance Max only once conversion tracking is reliable, because it optimizes toward those conversions across every channel.
• Demand Gen and Video come in when there is good image or video creative and the aim is to reach people before they search. New display work goes into Demand Gen, given Google's migration.
• App campaigns only make sense once the app is published in a store, or close to launch on Google Play for pre-registration.
• On a small budget we run fewer campaign types, not more, so each one gets enough data to learn from. Our account structure guide covers when to split campaigns.

If you want help planning or running Google Ads, see our services.

Frequently asked questions

What are the main Google Ads campaign types?

Search, Performance Max, Demand Gen, Display, Shopping, Video and App, plus Smart campaigns for accounts in Smart Mode. Display campaigns are moving into Demand Gen, where new Display campaigns will later have to be created.

Which campaign type is best for a small business?

Google doesn't name one type as best. Search is the simplest to set up because it needs only keywords and text ads, and Smart campaigns ask only for an ad, keyword themes and a budget, but are only available in Smart Mode. Performance Max needs reliable conversion goals and assets, and Shopping needs a Merchant Center account.

Is AI Max a campaign type?

No. AI Max is a set of options inside a Search campaign: search term matching beyond your keywords, text customization and final URL expansion.

Why can't I see all campaign types when I create a campaign?

The list depends on the objective you pick. Google's advice is to select Create a campaign without a goal's guidance, which reveals all available campaign types. Smart campaigns only appear in Smart Mode.

Can I change a campaign's type later?

Google Ads Help doesn't describe a way to switch an existing campaign to another type, apart from the tool that upgrades Display campaigns to Demand Gen, which can't be reverted. For Performance Max, Demand Gen and Video campaigns, the marketing objective can't be edited after creation either. In practice you create a new campaign of the other type.

For more on running Google Ads, see our guides to Google Ads basics, account structure, budgets and bidding, Performance Max and Demand Gen, or browse all guides.