Choosing a YouTube ad format in 2026

YouTube sells more ad formats than any other platform most brands will use, and several of the names have changed in the past two years. Video action campaigns have gone, Demand Gen has taken over much of what they did, and even the skip button is different. This guide sets out what each format is today, based on Google Ads Help and YouTube's own announcements, checked in September 2026.

Skippable in-stream: the everyday format

Skippable in-stream ads play before, during or after a video, and the viewer can skip after 5 seconds. Google sets no minimum or maximum length. It advises 15 to 20 seconds when the aim is awareness or action, and 2 to 3 minutes when the aim is consideration, where the viewer is choosing to keep watching.

Bought on cost per view, you pay when someone watches 30 seconds (or the whole ad, if it is shorter) or interacts with it, whichever comes first. The skip costs nothing. That is why the first five seconds outweigh everything after them: everyone sees them, and they decide whether you pay at all.

• Classic skippable format: a headline of up to 15 characters, and a call to action of up to 10, such as Learn more or Shop now.
• Demand Gen campaigns: headlines of up to 40 characters, with at least three required, plus a long headline and a description of up to 90.
• In Demand Gen, videos under 10 seconds will not serve in-stream, and the minimum video length is 5 seconds.

The player has shifted in small ways. The button now reads Skip rather than Skip Ads, a change reported in November 2023. From October 2024, YouTube told reporters, the countdown before the button may appear as a progress bar along the bottom of the player instead of a number. The button still arrives at 5 seconds.

Non-skippable ads and bumpers

Ads that cannot be skipped are bought on impressions, with target CPM bidding. In Video reach campaigns, the standard non-skippable ad runs for 7 to 15 seconds, and a 30 second version, from 16 to 30 seconds, is available on connected TV screens. Google's overview page also mentions non-skippable ads of up to 60 seconds depending on the campaign subtype, which appears to refer to reserved buys.

Bumpers are the shortest format: non-skippable, 5 to 6 seconds, bought on CPM through Video reach, Reservations or App campaigns. Six seconds holds one idea and a logo, and not much else. They work best as a reminder running beside longer ads, not as the whole campaign.

In-feed: the ad a viewer chooses

In-feed video ads appear in YouTube search results, in the Watch Next list beside a video, and in the Home and Subscriptions feeds. They look like any video listing, with a thumbnail, a headline and up to two lines of text. Nothing plays until someone picks it, or until it autoplays in the feed.

• Headline: up to 100 characters, though some devices cut it after 25, so the first 25 have to carry the meaning.
• Description: two lines of up to 35 characters each.
• Payment: when someone clicks, or on cost per view once at least 10 seconds have played by autoplay.

Because the viewer decides whether to watch, the thumbnail and the opening words of the headline do the selling. An in-feed ad that uses a generic frame from the video as its thumbnail rarely does well.

The masthead

The masthead is the large ad at the top of YouTube's Home feed on desktop, phones and TV. It is sold only by reservation, through a Google sales representative, and priced by CPM or by the hour. On desktop the video autoplays for up to 30 seconds. The text limits are a 40 character headline, a 60 character description and a 15 character call to action. At Brandcast in May 2026, YouTube announced a masthead with a custom content shelf.

The campaign type decides the format

What you can run depends on the campaign type as much as on the creative. According to Google's own table:

• Skippable in-stream: Demand Gen, Video views, Video reach, Performance Max, App and Reservations.
• In-feed: Demand Gen, Video views, Video reach, Performance Max and App.
• Shorts: Demand Gen, Video views, Video reach, Performance Max, App and Reservations.
• Non-skippable in-stream: Video reach and Reservations.
• Bumpers: Video reach, Reservations and App.

Video action campaigns no longer exist. Google stopped new ones in April 2025 and upgraded the rest to Demand Gen through 2025 and early 2026. If your account structure still refers to them, rebuild the plan around Demand Gen rather than trying to recreate them.

Demand Gen itself now reaches well beyond YouTube. Google describes it as running across YouTube and Shorts, Discover, Gmail, Maps and the Google Display Network, with channel controls to choose between them. Standard Display campaigns are being moved into Demand Gen as well, with a migration tool rolling out from June 2026.

The case for YouTube in the Gulf

Google's own figures make a strong case for the region. A Kantar study it published in October 2024 found that 86 percent of viewers in Saudi Arabia and 87 percent in the UAE say YouTube plays a key role in their purchase decisions. Google put YouTube's reach on connected TVs, as of May 2024, at over 12 million adults in Saudi Arabia and over 2.5 million in the UAE, and its March 2025 outlook cited penetration of 94 percent in the UAE and 89 percent in Saudi Arabia. These are Google's numbers about Google's product, so read them as the upper end, but the direction is clear.

Matching the format to the goal

• Awareness at scale: skippable in-stream in a Video reach campaign, with bumpers alongside and a non-skippable cut for TV screens.
• Views of a longer film: Video views campaigns, which combine skippable in-stream, in-feed and Shorts.
• Leads and sales: Demand Gen, with a clear call to action and at least three headlines.
• A launch day: the masthead, if the budget and the timing justify a reserved buy.

Before anything goes live, mock each ad up where it will actually appear, so the headline, the Skip button and the call to action can be checked against the limits above.

If you are weighing up which YouTube formats suit your next campaign in the UAE or Saudi Arabia, we would be happy to help you plan it. Get in touch with ALXO.