The discontinuation of Video Action Campaigns (VAC) on YouTube — and what that means for you

As announced, starting in March 2025, Google will discontinue VAC and integrate its features into the Demand Gen offering. VAC has traditionally been a valuable tool for advertisers to enhance lower-funnel performance in YouTube ads. If you’re curious about how this change impacts you, we’re here to help you navigate the transition.

This change comes as part of Google’s effort to streamline their solutions. Demand Gen offers many of the same advantages you’re used to with VAC, along with enhanced features — such as the ability to run video and image ads in a single campaign, lookalike segments, maximize clicks bidding, creative preferences, and more.

Pixability has been actively testing Demand Gen, and our findings so far show that it performs just as well, if not better, than VAC campaigns. This aligns with the results observed by Google’s own teams, who have seen similarly strong performance. As we move forward, our goal is to rigorously test Demand Gen to ensure it meets and exceeds expectations, and we are committed to keeping you informed by sharing key insights and performance updates.

You might be wondering, “What should I do right now?” No need to stress — there’s plenty of time! Whether Pixability is managing VAC campaigns for you or if you’re running them yourself, you can continue to do so since VAC is not going away until March 2025. 

However, you should be prepared for the change. Starting in the second quarter of 2025, all existing VAC campaigns will be transformed into a live Demand Gen campaign. Historical performance migration will be available early 2025 as Google will introduce a migration tool to help carry over historical settings and learnings from VAC to ensure consistent performance.

Get in touch with us to learn more about these upcoming changes, and how we can help you navigate the transition smoothly. There are also many other best practices we’re using to drive performance outside of VAC and Demand Gen, so let us know if your teams need assistance.