Ad types

  • Google ads primarily appear on the Search and Display networks, with specific ad types like App engagement and Video ads targeting mobile apps or YouTube.

  • You can modify some ad types without losing performance data using AdService, while others need to be removed and recreated.

  • Certain ad types can be shared across multiple ad groups by reusing the same ad ID.

  • Performance Max campaigns allow access to multiple ad types and channels from a single campaign.

This page provides an overview of the various ad types and features available in the API. For an overview of different ad types and formats, see About ad formats available in different campaign types.

Ad channels

Google ads typically appear on two networks:

Search network
Includes Google Search result pages, other Google sites like Maps and Shopping, and partnering search sites.
Display network
Includes Google sites like YouTube, Blogger, and thousands of partnering websites.

If you want to advertise on both networks but don't want to manage separate Search and Display campaigns, you can create a Display Expansion on Search campaign with a single ad group.

Certain ad types, specifically App engagement and Video ads, don't appear on either the Search or the Display network and are specific to their corresponding media: mobile apps or YouTube.

Mutate ads

You can mutate your ads without losing their performance data by using AdService.

Not all ad types are mutable as summarized in the following table. If an ad type is not mutable, it must be removed and recreated to affect changes. Performance data for the removed ad will continue to be available, but will no longer be updated.

Sharing ads in multiple ad groups

Ads of certain types can be referenced from multiple ad groups, referred to as ad sharing.

In the same way that you can share keyword sets, an ad can be shared between ad groups by reusing the same ad ID in another ad group ad.

Ad type compatibility

This table summarizes the capabilities and limitations for each ad type. For more details, refer to enumeration of ad types and their associated set of resources.

Ad Type Search Display Mutable Shareable Description
AppAd App Ads promote an app across all Google properties from a single campaign. More at advanced campaigns and the Help Center.
AppEngagementAd App engagement ads allow you to write text encouraging a specific action in the app, like checking in, making a purchase, or booking a flight. For details, see the App engagement ads help article.
AppPreRegistrationAd App pre-registration ads build awareness and anticipation for apps and games before they are released on Google Play. For details, see the App campaigns guide.
CallAd (Removed in v23) Creation of new call-only ads was deprecated in January 2026, and CallAd and CallAdInfo have been removed from the API (existing call-only ads are supported only until February 2027). Migrate to responsive search ads with call assets instead. For more details, see the Call ads help article.
DemandGenCarouselAd Part of Demand Gen campaigns, this ad type consists of several images in a swipeable card format and appears on YouTube, Discover, and Gmail feeds.
DemandGenMultiAssetAd Part of Demand Gen campaigns, this ad type combines headlines, descriptions, images and logos and appears on YouTube, Discover, and Gmail feeds. Starting in v25, new instances are opted into automatic animated image generation (AssetAutomationType.GENERATE_ANIMATED_IMAGES_FROM_OTHER_ASSETS) by default; you can opt out using AdGroupAd.ad_group_ad_asset_automation_settings.
DemandGenProductAd Part of Demand Gen campaigns, this ad type features product images and appears on YouTube, Discover, and Gmail feeds. See Shopping Ads.
DemandGenVideoResponsiveAd Part of Demand Gen campaigns, this ad type is a video ad format that appears on YouTube, Discover, and Gmail feeds. Starting in v24, instances are opted into automatic landing page text generation (GENERATE_LANDING_PAGE_TEXT) by default; you can opt out using AdGroupAd.ad_group_ad_asset_automation_settings.
DisplayUploadAd A generic type of display ad. Supported product types.
ExpandedDynamicSearchAd Expanded dynamic search ads contain only two description lines because the headline, final URLs, and display URL are auto-generated at serving time according to domain name specific information. See Dynamic Search Ads and the Help Center.
ExpandedTextAd

Note: This ad format is deprecated. Existing ads cannot be edited, only paused or removed. We recommend transitioning to responsive search ads.

HotelAd See Hotel Ads and the Help Center.
ImageAd 1 As opposed to a text ad, an image ad is a graphic promoting a business. For details, see the Image ads help center article.
LegacyAppInstallAd A legacy app install ad that only can be used by a few select customers.
LocalAd (Deprecated) Local campaigns have been upgraded to Performance Max for store goals. In Performance Max, creatives are managed using AssetGroup and AssetGroupAsset. For more information, see the Local ads help center article.
LegacyResponsiveDisplayAd Known as "responsive ads" in the UI, this legacy ad type has been replaced by ResponsiveDisplayAd.
ResponsiveDisplayAd See Responsive Display Ads.
ResponsiveSearchAd Unlike static text ads, responsive search ads permit up to 15 different headlines and 4 different descriptions, which are then tested in combination to find the best permutation. For details, see the Responsive search ads help center article.
ShoppingComparisonListingAd See Shopping Ads and the Comparison listing ads help center article.
ShoppingProductAd 2 See Shopping Ads.
ShoppingSmartAd (Deprecated) Smart Shopping campaigns have been upgraded to Performance Max. See Shopping Ads.
SmartCampaignAd (Deprecated) New Smart campaigns cannot be created as of September 2026. Existing campaigns continue to serve and can be updated. See Smart campaigns.
TextAd A text-only ad with a headline and two description lines. This ad format is deprecated. We recommend that you transition to responsive search ads.
TravelAd See Things to do ads.
VideoAd The Google Ads API permits only reporting for this legacy ad type. Video campaigns must be created using the UI or Google Ads scripts. For video ads, an impression is generated when the video starts playing, and a view for in-stream skippable ads is 30 seconds or video completion (for shorter videos). For modern video ads creatable using the API, see DemandGenVideoResponsiveAd.
VideoResponsiveAd Responsive video ads are used in the video action campaign type, which was upgraded to Demand Gen campaigns in 2025. For new campaigns, use DemandGenVideoResponsiveAd. For details, see the Video action campaigns help center article.

1 An ImageAd on the Search Network can appear only on websites of Google Search partners, not on Google Search.

2 A ShoppingProductAd on the Display Network can appear only on YouTube and Google Discover.

Explore ad fields

To discover all available fields related to ads, including their data types, descriptions, and which other fields they are compatible with in SELECT and WHERE clauses, use the interactive Google Ads Query Builder.

To see fields associated with ad types:

  1. Go to the Query Builder.
  2. Select the ad_group_ad resource.
  3. Browse the list of fields. You can find ad_group_ad.ad.type and other ad attributes.
  4. Click any field name to see its description and attributes (filterable, sortable, data type).
  5. The tool also shows which segments and metrics can be selected with the ad_group_ad resource.
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