What are Discovery Ads?
Discovery Ads are Google's visual ad format that reaches users across YouTube, Gmail and Google Discover. The format is built to spark curiosity and purchase intent in the moments when you, as a user, are open to inspiration – not when you're actively searching. This means Discovery Ads act as a kind of bridge between paid advertising and organic content, because they blend naturally into the feed you're already scrolling through.
What makes Discovery Ads special is that they're powered by artificial intelligence and machine learning. The system picks up patterns in your behaviour – for example which videos you watch and which topics you interact with – and uses those signals to find new, relevant products that match your current interests. This happens without you, as an advertiser, needing to define specific keywords. On the other hand, it requires a well-defined brand foundation and a design that can communicate visually. In other words, you need to both understand the algorithm's logic and master the visual style if you want to succeed with Discovery Ads.
How do you use Discovery Ads?
You use Discovery Ads to create interest and engagement among users before they start searching themselves. Where Search ads meet a need that's already defined, Discovery Ads help plant the idea. To do this effectively, you need to think like a content creator: what makes a person stop in a visual feed and interact with your brand? The combination of storytelling, design and timing is crucial for the format to work.
On the technical side, you set up the campaign directly in Google Ads and choose an overall goal – typically conversions, traffic or brand awareness. You then let the algorithm find the most relevant users based on their in-market signals, meaning indicators that they'll soon be ready to buy. Here you can build audiences that resemble your existing customers, or let the system experiment with new segments on its own. It's precisely this automation that sets Discovery Ads apart from traditional display campaigns.
Why you should use Discovery Ads
Discovery Ads give you access to Google's most sought-after surfaces – feeds that billions of users visit every day. When you advertise here, you place your content right in the middle of contexts where users are already engaging with visual, personally curated content. That makes the format effective for cultivating new audiences – especially if you work with longer customer journeys, where the relationship has to be built gradually.
Google's own performance measurements show that Discovery Ads can drive significantly more clicks and a higher conversion rate than many display formats. This is down to the combination of AI, feed-based placement and native design, which makes the ad feel like a natural part of the user experience. In other words, you get the performance of a paid format and the authenticity of an organic post.
What types and variants are there?
You can choose between several creative formats, which affect how the message is presented. Single-image ads work best when you want to communicate a clear hero product with minimal noise. Carousel ads, on the other hand, give you room to tell a short story, because users can swipe through several images themselves – a natural choice if you want to show product variations or build a visual sequence. Video is the most engaging variant and can work as a mini commercial in the middle of the feed.
Even though the campaign is set up as a single type in Google Ads, the format adapts to the context on each platform. On YouTube, the ad appears more visual and dynamic, while Gmail uses a more text-based layout in the Promotions or Social tab. That's why you should think of Discovery Ads as one format with context-dependent variants – not three separate solutions.
How do you use Discovery Ads in practice?
The first step is to define a clear goal for the campaign. Do you want to drive traffic, generate sales or build awareness? You then upload creative assets in Google Ads, where the system automatically combines images, headlines and descriptions into different versions. Google's algorithms then test which combinations perform best with each audience. The ongoing optimisation happens in the background, so you can focus on adjusting messages and creative style instead.
Data insight plays a central role in how you use the format in practice. Metrics such as click-through rate, conversion rate and ROAS quickly give you an overview of whether the ad is driving value. If you combine this with a clear content strategy and a firm grip on SEO and brand identity, Discovery Ads become a natural extension of the rest of your marketing ecosystem. It's about creating a consistent thread through your visual communication, so users recognise you across platforms.
What should you look out for?
Although Discovery Ads offer massive reach, getting the full effect requires a strategic approach. The format isn't designed for quick transactions, but for building interest and relationships over time. This means you need to be patient with the algorithm, because the system spends the first few weeks learning which audiences respond best. This is often called the ‘learning phase’ in the Google Ads world, and results only stabilise once there's enough data.
You should also pay attention to your creative output. The feed environment is highly competitive for attention, so images and headlines need to stand on their own and deliver value within a few seconds. Test different combinations of colours, angles and messages, and use the AI-generated insights in Google Ads as a sounding board to refine them. Discovery Ads work best when creativity and data meet – just as in a modern, performance-driven marketing strategy.
