Google Display Ads Are Moving. But To Where?

If you’ve heard that Google is “getting rid of display ads,” take a breath for me please. That’s not quite what’s happening. 

Google is retiring Display campaigns as their own separate product and folding them into a newer campaign type called Demand Gen. Your display ads aren’t going away. They’re moving into a bigger home with a few new features attached.

One thing up front: this is Google’s decision, not BankBound’s. We didn’t ask for it, but we’re on board, and we’re here to help you through it. Below, we’ll break down what’s changing, why Google is doing it, what it means for your financial institution, and what you should do next.

First, a Quick Refresher: What Are Display Ads?

Display ads are the image and banner ads you see on news sites, blogs, and apps. Google places them across its Display Network, which includes more than 2 million websites, videos, and apps.

Banks and credit unions use display ads for all kinds of things: building brand awareness in their market, promoting a CD special or HELOC rate, or reminding people who visited their website to come back and finish that loan application.

What Google Is Actually Doing

Think of it like a store that used to have a separate counter just for one type of product. Now the store is closing that counter and moving those products into a larger department. The products are still on the shelves. They’ve just moved to a new part of the store and live under one roof with everything else.

That’s what’s happening here. The Display Network isn’t disappearing. It’s simply being managed inside Demand Gen instead of as its own campaign type. And if your institution wants to keep running ads only on display sites, you still can.

So What Is Demand Gen?

Demand Gen is a single campaign that can show your ads across several of Google’s most visual places at once:

• Display Network sites and apps
• YouTube
• Gmail
• Discover (the news and article feed in the Google app)
• Google Maps

Demand Gen also includes something called channel controls. In simple terms, that means you get to choose where your ads show up. Want to lean into YouTube and skip Gmail? You can do that. Want to stick with display sites only? You can do that too.

The Timeline

Here’s the rollout as Google has laid it out so far:

• Now (Oct 2027): Advertisers can start running Demand Gen campaigns as an alternative to Display.
• January 2027: New Display campaigns can no longer be created in Google Ads.
• Later in 2027: Any remaining Display campaigns will be moved to Demand Gen automatically.

Again, these dates are coming from Google and may shift. If they do, we’ll do our best to update this post.

There are a few reasons that Google is doing this, and most of them make sense from a practical point of view.

• It’s simpler. Google has had several campaign types that overlap. Combining them means fewer campaigns to set up and manage.
• It gives Google’s AI more room to work. When a campaign can show ads in more places, Google’s system has more chances to find the right person at the right moment.
• It matches how people actually behave. Your members and customers don’t live on one channel. In a single afternoon, someone might check Gmail, watch a YouTube video, and read a local news article. Demand Gen is built to follow that path.
• Google says it performs better. According to Google, advertisers who add Display inventory to Demand Gen see an average 9.5% increase in return on ad spend. Google also cites a case study showing 24% lower cost per acquisition and 19% more conversions. It’s worth being clear: these are Google’s own numbers, not independent or bank-specific results. Treat them as a good sign, not a guarantee.

Why This Can Be a Good Thing for Your Institution

Change can feel like a headache, but there’s real upside here.

• Potential for lower cost per lead. More placement options can mean more efficient results on deposit and loan campaigns.
• Newer creative formats. Demand Gen supports video, carousel ads, and vertical formats for YouTube Shorts, giving you fresh ways to tell your story.
• One view of performance. Instead of piecing together reports from separate campaigns, you can see results across Display, YouTube, and Gmail in one place.
• Compliance flexibility. If your institution needs to keep ads on display sites only, that option is still available.

What to Watch Out For

We’d be doing you a disservice if we only shared the good news. Here are a few things to keep an eye on.

Automatic migration isn’t hands-off. If a campaign gets moved over automatically without anyone reviewing it, some settings may not carry over the way you’d expect.

Double-check your exclusions and brand safety. Placement exclusions are the list of sites and apps where you don’t want your ads to appear. For a financial institution, those matter a lot. Make sure they’re still in place after the move.

Some features aren’t supported. Based on current reports, lead form assets, click-to-call assets, and display ads with disclaimers aren’t supported in Demand Gen. That last one deserves attention in a regulated industry. If you rely on any of these, you’ll need a plan to replace them.

Results may be reported differently. Demand Gen measures performance a bit differently than Display did, so comparing old results to new ones takes some care. Setting a clear “before” baseline will help.

What You Should Do Now

You don’t need to panic, but you also shouldn’t wait until the last minute. Here’s a simple checklist:

1. Find out which campaigns are affected. Any active Display campaigns will need to move.
2. Don’t wait for the automatic switch. Moving campaigns on your own schedule gives you more control.
3. Record your baseline. Note how your current campaigns are performing so you can compare after the move.
4. Review your compliance settings. Check exclusions, audience settings, and any required disclosures.
5. Talk to your agency. If someone else manages your ads, ask what their migration plan is.

How BankBound Is Helping

While this change is Google’s call, we’re taking care of the heavy lifting for our clients. Here’s what we’re doing:

• Moving existing Display campaigns to Demand Gen well ahead of the January 2027 cutoff, and building new campaigns where it makes sense.
• Marking accounts at the point of migration so we can compare performance before and after.
• Keeping the audience exclusions and compliance settings that regulated advertising requires.

Have questions about how this affects your campaigns? Reach out to your BankBound account strategist, or contact us to start a conversation. We’re happy to help.