Google announced on November 3 that Demand Gen campaigns can now show discount tags on YouTube Shorts and in-stream video ads. The feature is limited to campaigns that use a Google Merchant Center product feed. It lets merchants highlight sales without creating new video assets.
What happened
Google has extended promotion assets to its Demand Gen campaign type. Retailers that upload a product feed to Google Merchant Center can attach a sale badge, either a percentage or a money-off discount, to video ads that run in YouTube Shorts or as in-stream ads. The change is documented on Google’s “About Demand Gen campaigns” help page, which now includes a new bullet point and two FAQ entries describing the feature. The update was first reported by PPC News Feed on November 3, 2026.
Why it matters
The addition gives merchants a simple way to surface price incentives in short-form video, a format that has grown rapidly among mobile users. Because the badge can be overlaid on existing video creatives, advertisers do not need to produce new assets for each promotion. However, the feature only applies to feed-based Demand Gen campaigns, leaving out lead-generation businesses and retailers that run Demand Gen without a product catalog. Google has not released performance data, and its help page does not yet explain how the badge behaves on other Demand Gen placements such as Discover or Gmail.
What this means for marketers
Marketers can now boost the visibility of limited-time offers in a format that captures attention in seconds. By using the discount tag, brands can drive higher click-through rates without extra production cost. For those looking to combine video promotion with broader lead capture, ADFLU’s verified lead generation service can help turn the increased traffic into pre-qualified prospects. The feature also aligns with Google’s broader push to integrate promotion assets across its ad products, mirroring how Performance Max already displays similar badges on Shorts and in-stream placements.
"Retailers running feed-based Demand Gen can now apply discount tags from promotion assets directly on YouTube Shorts and in-stream ads," PPC News Feed
The bottom line
Google’s new discount tag capability expands the toolbox for retailers using Demand Gen on YouTube. It offers a low-effort way to highlight sales in short-form video, but it is restricted to product-feed campaigns and lacks published performance metrics. Brands should test the badge on Shorts and in-stream ads ahead of key shopping periods to gauge lift, and consider pairing the exposure with strong landing-page offers to maximize conversion.
Sources
- 1.ppc.land