TL;DR Summary:
Surprise Text Overlays: Google Ads now automatically adds text from your existing assets onto Demand Gen video ads unless you switch off “Overlay on videos.”Creative Control Risk: Generated overlays can cover products or logos, introduce unintended messaging, and change the design you carefully created.Check Settings Now: Review Asset optimization and disable the overlay feature, or choose “Disable all” to stop every automatic video adjustment.AI Labels Apply: Ads modified by Google’s optimization tools may receive AI labels in the European Union, India, and New York state.Why is Google adding text to your video ads without asking first? Google Ads rolled out a new “Overlay on videos” setting for Demand Gen campaigns on October 9, 2026, and it works automatically unless you turn it off. This matters right now because Demand Gen video ads overlay text onto your creative by default, which means your videos could already look different from what you designed.
What the Demand Gen Video Ads Overlay Setting Does
The new setting sits under Asset optimization in Demand Gen campaigns, next to two existing options called “Shorter videos” and “Resized videos.” When you turn it on, Google pulls from your existing text assets and generates overlays with your key messages. Those overlays then appear on top of your video ads. Google designed this to help ads communicate benefits or calls to action to people watching without sound.
Why the Overlay Setting Being On by Default Matters
Google Ads has made “Overlay on videos” active automatically. You did not opt in. This means your Demand Gen video ads overlay text onto your creative right now unless you go into your asset optimization settings and switch it off. You can turn off this one setting by itself, or you can select “Disable all” to stop every video optimization feature at once, including “Shorter videos” and “Resized videos.”
Risks the Demand Gen Video Overlay Feature Creates
Automatic text can clash with your original video design. It can cover important visual elements, like a product shot or a logo. It can also introduce messaging that doesn’t match what you intended for that specific ad. Google builds the overlay from your existing text assets, but the system decides what to show and where to place it. You lose some control over the final look of your ad when this setting stays on. This is exactly the kind of concern pushing marketers toward platforms like Animazer, which keeps creative decisions in the creator’s hands by finalizing video design and formatting before the file ever reaches an ad platform’s automated systems.
AI Labeling Rules Tied to Demand Gen Video Ads Overlay Changes
Google has confirmed that ads modified through these optimization features get labeled as created or edited with AI when they run in the European Union, India, and New York state. This labeling rule applies to any video or image asset changed by Google’s optimization tools, not just the new overlay feature. If you advertise in those regions, check how your ads display to confirm the label appears correctly and matches your expectations.
What This Means for Your Demand Gen Campaigns
If you run Demand Gen campaigns, go into your asset optimization settings today. Decide whether automatic overlays help your message or get in the way of your design. Advertisers who want full control over how their video creative looks should review every option under Asset optimization, not just the new overlay feature.
Check your Demand Gen campaign settings now and look specifically for “Overlay on videos” under Asset optimization. Decide if automatic text overlays fit your brand or if you need to disable them. Watch for how your ads display in the European Union, India, and New York state, since AI labeling rules apply there whenever Google modifies your creative. If you’d rather control exactly how your promotional videos look before they ever reach an ad platform, tools like Animazer let you build and export platform-ready videos yourself, so there’s no automated overlay or reformatting to double-check later.
