An asset group is a kit, not an ad
The system combines assets into ads for each placement, so every asset has to stand on its own and sit beside any other. A headline that only makes sense next to one particular image will eventually appear next to a different one. Write headlines as a set covering distinct jobs, such as the product, a benefit, the offer, proof and the brand name, and avoid near-duplicates that waste slots. Keep at least one description short, because the tightest placements show little text. Build one asset group per real theme, such as a category, audience or offer, so the images and words inside it belong together.
Images in three ratios, logos in two
Each asset group can hold up to 20 images: landscape 1.91:1 at 1200x628, square at 1200x1200 and portrait 4:5 at 960x1200. Logos come as 1:1 at 1200x1200 and 4:1 at 1200x300, up to five. Google crops and places these differently in Discover, Gmail, YouTube and display inventory, so keep the product central with space around it, and keep overlaid text, logos and buttons to a minimum, since Google's image requirements restrict them. Generate each ratio as its own composition rather than cropping one master: a portrait frame needs a different arrangement from a wide banner, not the same scene with the edges removed.
Supply your own video
If an asset group has no video, Google may generate one automatically from its images, logos and text and run it on YouTube. Those videos come from templates, so they seldom look like the rest of the brand's work. Supplying horizontal, vertical and square videos, each at least ten seconds long, puts the brand in charge of what plays on YouTube and Shorts. The studio builds that set from the same approved material as the rest of the asset group: cuts in all three shapes with the product held exact by product-lock, licensed music beds and voice-over in each market's language.
Reading asset reports without over-reading them
Asset reports show how individual headlines, images and videos perform, and Google has been adding detail, including results by channel. Treat them as direction, not verdict. Assets are served in combinations, so a weak headline may be weak because of what it was paired with. Replace low performers in batches, keep a log of what changed and why, and give new assets time to gather data before judging them. Also decide which automation to accept: final URL expansion, automatically created text and brand exclusions all change what the campaign can show, and each deserves a deliberate decision rather than a default.
Updated 25 September 2026