YouTube Demand Gen October Drop: Data Strength Uplift metric, Data Manager and enhanced conversions coming to DV360 and GA

Google's October 2026 Demand Gen Drop, published October 13, focuses on data strength for Demand Gen campaigns on YouTube and Google surfaces. A Data Strength Uplift metric is launching in Google Ads to show, in the UI, the conversion gains driven by an advertiser's data setup. Data Manager, used to connect and manage first-party data, is expanding to Display & Video 360 and Google Analytics. Google also says enhanced conversions will soon be available in Display & Video 360 and Google Analytics. Google states that, based on an internal analysis, advertisers that build data strength with Google Tag Gateway see on average over 20% conversion uplift in Demand Gen campaigns.

Impact

Measurement setup is becoming a visible performance lever in Google Ads: the new metric quantifies how much conversion volume a weak data setup costs, which makes it easier to justify tagging and first-party data work to clients. Extending Data Manager and enhanced conversions to DV360 and GA means agencies can manage first-party data more consistently across Google's buying and analytics tools. The uplift figures are Google's own internal data and will vary by account.

Recommendations

Check the Data Strength Uplift metric in Demand Gen accounts once available and prioritise accounts with the largest gap
Review Google Tag Gateway and enhanced conversions implementation for clients running Demand Gen
Plan to connect first-party data via Data Manager for clients also buying in DV360 or reporting in GA

Source: Google Blog (The Keyword)