"Unlocking the Power of CTV Advertising: 80% of PMax Advertisers Embrace the Trend"

The Rise of Connected TV Advertising in 2026

Recent data shows that eight out of ten Performance Max advertisers are now tapping into connected TV (CTV) impressions through YouTube. This significant shift in advertising trends has been highlighted by Mike Ryan from Smarter Ecommerce. Over the past year, Google has substantially broadened the reach of this channel, and the momentum is only growing stronger.

• Q2 2025: Google initiated the serving of CTV ads utilizing standard product feed images. This development meant that even advertisers without video assets could suddenly generate TV impressions from their existing collection of photos.
• January 2026: Google made a notable announcement introducing shoppable CTV ads. This innovative approach enables viewers to explore products and make purchases directly from their TV screens, leveraging Google Merchant Center product feeds.

CTV advertising has now become a mainstream channel. If you are utilizing PMax, chances are your presence is already on the big screen, with Google continuously enhancing the opportunities for commerce. Google automatically transforms your product feed images into TV ads and allocates budget for CTV impressions without any additional effort required on your end.

However, without actively monitoring the breakdown of your channel performance, you may lack visibility into where your budget is allocated and whether the auto-generated creatives are suitable for a 65-inch screen.

1. Review Your Channel Performance: Access Google's native channel breakdown report to understand precisely how much of your PMax budget and impressions are directed towards CTV. It could unveil surprising insights.
2. Audit Your Feed Images: Since Q2 2025, product photos have been automatically utilized for creating CTV ads. Ensure your images are of high quality as what once worked for Shopping may not translate well on a large TV screen.
3. Explore Shoppable CTV Opportunities: If you are running PMax campaigns with a Merchant Center feed, you might already qualify for shoppable CTV formats. Such campaigns have shown to drive 7% additional conversions with the same ROI. Evaluate if this inventory is benefiting your objectives.
4. Enhance Creative Assets: While using feed images for CTV ads is a good start, advertisers who invest in custom video assets optimized for TV screens tend to outperform those relying solely on auto-generated content.

YouTube's CEO Neal Mohan recently confirmed that TV has surpassed mobile devices as the primary viewing platform for YouTube in the U.S. in terms of watch time. Additionally, YouTube has maintained its position as the top streaming platform in the U.S. for two consecutive years. Performance Max advertisers are already leveraging this trend — the question remains whether they are proactively managing it or simply going with the flow.

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