Google Ads has expanded its tool for adding AI to video ads once again, but this time it goes even deeper. The company has released a new Voiceover Video Enhancement feature that can be used for generating a voiceover for Performance Max and Demand Gen campaigns.
The update is built on top of an existing system designed for automatically creating vertical and shortened versions of video ads. This time, the same system generates voiceover with the use of Google’s AI, utilizing text-based assets from advertisers’ Google Ads account.
What This New Feature Actually Does
The main idea behind this update is to convert headlines and descriptions of a campaign to spoken audio through Google’s AI. As a result, advertisers will not have to employ voice talent, produce voiceovers themselves, and manually edit those to the video. The system will handle this task based on the written copy available inside an account.
Where Advertisers Can Find It
The location of the feature depends on the selected campaign type. In case of Performance Max, it is placed inside the Asset Optimization section of a campaign. For Demand Gen, it will be found on the ad level.
This is a factor worth considering when working with multiple types of campaigns, as the control of this feature will be located differently depending on a campaign type. Performance Max campaigns use a global setting that works throughout the whole campaign, while Demand Gen requires checking each ad separately.
Advertisers Get a Preview First
One detail worth noting is that Google does not push these voiceovers live without warning. Instead, the company shows a preview of the generated audio first, giving advertisers the chance to review what was created.
That means before any AI-generated voiceover actually goes live on a real ad, someone managing the account can listen to it and decide whether it sounds right.
Why The Source Text Quality Matters So Much
As the system uses the existing headlines and descriptions in order to generate voiceover, the importance of quality copy increases significantly.
If you feel that your descriptions and headlines are well-written and easily comprehensible in speech, then you need not worry. But, if you think it will not be clear once transformed into spoken word, then you should revisit your copy right and ensure it looks good. Not all texts sound good when they are being listened to. Some may be good only for reading.
Right Now, It’s English Only
This feature is currently limited to English language accounts. If an advertiser’s account is set up in a different language, this voiceover option is not available yet.
It is quite common for newly released AI-based features to have such restrictions, as companies usually first try out their services in the most developed markets. There has been no update about the availability of this feature for other languages.
How This Fits Into Google’s Bigger Video Push
This update is not happening in isolation. Google has been steadily building out automated video tools inside its advertising platform for a while now, with vertical video creation and shorter video versions already available before this voiceover feature arrived.
Adding automatic voiceovers is a natural next step in that pattern. Instead of requiring advertisers to produce multiple versions of a video manually for different formats, lengths, and now audio, Google’s systems are handling more of that production work directly inside the platform.
For advertisers running video campaigns at scale, this kind of automation can save a meaningful amount of time, since producing professional voiceovers normally takes either hiring talent or using separate audio software.
What Advertisers Should Watch For
As this feature pulls directly from existing account assets, it is recommended for advertisers to review their headlines and descriptions if they haven’t done so in a while. Outdated or old text stored within the account can easily slip into the voiceover unnoticed.
You should also pay attention to the Google preview before making your content public. The preview can help advertisers detect any voiceover issues, awkward phrases, pronunciation issues or inappropriate text.
The Bigger Picture For Video Advertising
The voice in an ad can really change how people feel when they watch it. If a video is playing without any sound it is a lot different than the video with a voice. Google is adding this feature to Performance Max and Demand Gen so the company must think it is an idea to have voices in video ads.
If this feature actually helps ads work better it will be different for each person who is making ads. This is because it depends on how good the wordsre that are already being used and how well those words sound when they are spoken. People who make ads and already have words might find this feature is a quick and easy way to make their video ads better.
For everyone this update is a good reminder that even small things, like the title of an ad or the description are doing a lot of work. As Google keeps making tools that use the words from ads it is likely that the words will become more important. The voice in video ads like the ones, in Performance Max and Demand Gen will keep changing how people feel when they watch them.
FAQs
Q 1: What does the new Voiceover Video Enhancement feature do?
The tool automatically generates a voiceover for an advertisement video based on the existing headlines and descriptions, using Google’s AI technology. This voiceover will be applied to Performance Max and Demand Gen video ads.
Q 2: Where do I find this setting in my account?
The Voiceover Video Enhancement tool is found at the campaign level for Performance Max within Asset Optimization, and at the ad level for Demand Gen.
Q 3: Do I need to record my own voiceover for this to work?
No. Google’s AI creates a voice based on the headlines and descriptions you already have in your account, hence there is no need to record a voice-over.
Q 4: Can I review the voiceover before it goes live?
Advertisers get access to previews of generated voiceovers that they are able to use in their campaigns.
Q 5: Does this feature work in languages other than English?
This feature works exclusively for advertisers with English language accounts.
Q 6: Why does my existing ad copy matter for this feature?
The voiceover will be generated from the content of your existing headlines and descriptions, which will affect the resulting voiceover.
Q 7: Is this a brand new tool, or part of something Google already had?
The video enhancement tool builds upon Google’s previous video enhancements tools that generated vertical and shortened videos from existing ones. Now they have added voiceover generation functionality.
Q 8: Will this feature automatically add a voiceover to every video I run?
Voiceover generation occurs within Performance Max and Demand Gen video ads, but can be managed and previewed before becoming a part of any ad.
Q 9: Who first reported on this update?
Thomas Eccel was the first one to report about this feature.
Q 10: Should I update my ad copy before using this feature?
Your existing ad copy may need to be edited in order to sound better when generated through Google’s voiceover generator AI.
