Create YouTube Video Campaigns with AI: End-to-End Guide

The Challenge: YouTube Ads Are Complex

Creating YouTube video campaigns has always been a multi-step nightmare:

Create or source video content
Export in the right format and resolution
Upload to YouTube manually
Copy the video ID
Navigate to Google Ads
Create a Video campaign... wait, you can't via API
Figure out Demand Gen campaigns instead
Set up targeting, bidding, budget
Create the video ad creative
Launch and pray

Now? One conversation.

What We Built

Synter now supports the complete YouTube advertising workflow:

🎬 AI Video Generation

Generate video ads using Google Veo 3.1. Provide a concept, get a production-ready video.

📤 YouTube Upload

Upload videos to YouTube programmatically. Public, unlisted, or private.

🚀 Demand Gen Campaigns

Create campaigns that serve on YouTube, YouTube Shorts, Discover, and Gmail.

📊 Conversion Tracking

Set up Google Ads conversions and GTM tags automatically.

Why Demand Gen, Not Video Campaigns?

Here's something Google doesn't advertise loudly: The Google Ads API does NOT support creating Video campaigns.

The API only allows reporting on existing Video campaigns. For programmatic YouTube ad creation, you must use Demand Gen campaigns.

Demand Gen Campaign Placements

YouTube — In-stream and in-feed video ads
YouTube Shorts — Vertical video placements
Discover — Google Discover feed
Gmail — Promotions tab ads

We learned this the hard way so you don't have to. All our YouTube scripts use Demand Gen under the hood.

End-to-End Workflow

Step 1: Generate or Upload Video

Option A: Generate with AI (Veo 3.1)

"Generate a 15-second video ad showing our AI agent 
managing campaigns across multiple platforms. 
Dark tech aesthetic, cyan accents."

Step 2: Upload to YouTube

{
  "script_name": "youtube_upload_video",
  "platform": "GOOGLE",
  "args": [
    "--url", "https://blob-url/video.mp4",
    "--title", "Synter AI Agent Demo",
    "--privacy", "public"
  ]
}

Step 3: Create Demand Gen Campaign

{
  "script_name": "google_ads_create_demand_gen_campaign",
  "args": [
    "--campaign-name", "YouTube - AI Demo",
    "--video-id", "dQw4w9WgXcQ",
    "--daily-budget", "50",
    "--geo-targets", "2840"
  ]
}

Asset Requirements

Demand Gen campaigns require specific creative assets:

Asset Type	Requirements
Headlines	3 minimum, max 40 chars each
Descriptions	2 minimum, max 90 chars each
Video	YouTube video ID (public or unlisted)
Logo	1:1 ratio, 128×128px minimum
Business name	Max 25 characters

Real Production Campaigns

We used this system to launch our own campaigns:

Campaigns launched

5 min

Total setup time

$150/day

Combined budget

Campaign	Duration	Budget	Status
Synter AI Agent 15s Reel	15s	$50/day	● Live
Synter YouTube 30s	30s	$50/day	● Live
Synter AI Agent 60s Demo	60s	$50/day	● Live

Technical Requirements

To enable YouTube campaigns in Synter:

1. OAuth Scopes

Your Google connection needs:

https://www.googleapis.com/auth/adwords
https://www.googleapis.com/auth/youtube.upload

2. GCP APIs Enabled

Enable these in Google Cloud Console:

Google Ads API
YouTube Data API v3

3. For AI Video Generation

Optional—for Veo 3.1 integration:

GEMINI_API_KEY with Veo access

What's Next

We're continuing to expand video capabilities:

A/B testing: Auto-generate video variants and test performance
Thumbnail optimization: AI-generated thumbnails for better CTR
Cross-platform video: Adapt videos for Meta Reels, TikTok
Performance insights: Natural language video performance reports

Connect Google Ads →Try Campaign IDE