Set up a YouTube campaign with AI

Where to run this

Your approved ChatGPT, Claude or Gemini workspace, files uploaded first.

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• ☐Approved campaign brief and media plan
• ☐Primary KPI and conversion goal
• ☐Budget, markets, languages
• ☐Landing pages, products or services
• ☐Approved claims and brand restrictions
• ☐Audience strategy
• ☐Existing campaign export and performance evidence, if reusing or cloning a campaign
• ☐Existing short-form video assets from other platforms, if repurposing for Shorts

Steps

1. 01

   Pick your starting point before you build a blueprint

   Do this

   New client, new market, no suitable historical campaign: build fresh. An existing YouTube campaign with credible performance history: audit it, don't redesign a winner without evidence. A proven campaign that needs to launch in a new market or language: clone and adapt it.

2. 1a

   New campaign: generate the blueprint

   You are designing a complete Google Ads YouTube campaign. Using only the approved materials provided, generate: a campaign blueprint, recommended campaign structure and ad group structure (for each: name, purpose, recommended audience, lookalike strategy, retargeting strategy, creative theme, landing page), audience strategy (customer lists, website visitors, existing converters, video viewers, high-value customer lists, lookalikes, custom segments, interests, exclusions), creative strategy (hero video, secondary video, retargeting video, Shorts video, CTA framework), and channel strategy across YouTube in-stream, YouTube Shorts, YouTube Feed placements and Connected TV. Use only information supplied. Do not invent products, audiences, offers, claims, promotions or budgets. Finish with READY TO BUILD or NOT READY.

   Do this

   Google Ads offers three genuinely distinct YouTube campaign types, not just one generic objective: Demand Gen (converting new customers), Video View campaigns (building consideration, AI automatically selects the best creative/format combination per viewer), and Video Reach campaigns (pure awareness, maximising unique viewers). Confirm which one actually matches the approved objective before the blueprint is built, not after.

3. 1b

   Existing winning campaign: audit it, don't just redesign it

   Review the attached YouTube campaign and the supplied performance evidence. First identify what appears to be working, what should remain unchanged, and what is not supported by sufficient evidence. Then identify: scaling opportunities, audience expansion opportunities, lookalike opportunities, creative fatigue risks, frequency risks, reach expansion opportunities, view-rate opportunities, and video completion opportunities. Use only: KEEP, TEST, EXPAND, REMOVE, HUMAN REVIEW, NOT EVIDENCED. Do not redesign a successful structure without evidence. Do not recommend changes purely based on best practice. Do not invent performance results. Do not approve the campaign. Finish with STRUCTURE CAN BE REUSED or STRUCTURE REQUIRES REVISION.

4. 1c

   Cloning into a new market: adapt, don't rebuild

   Use the attached high-performing YouTube campaign as the source blueprint. Preserve: campaign structure, audience framework, video framework, and measurement framework. Review whether changes are required for: market, language, product differences, audience availability, local restrictions, cultural considerations, creative availability, and conversion tracking. Classify every recommendation as: KEEP, LOCALISE, REMOVE, ADD, HUMAN REVIEW, NOT EVIDENCED. Do not redesign the campaign unless the supplied local-market evidence requires it. Do not invent local regulations or cultural insights. Do not invent audiences, products, offers, claims, promotions or budgets. Do not approve the campaign. Finish with READY TO CREATE LOCAL BLUEPRINT or LOCAL EVIDENCE REQUIRED.

5. 02

   Build campaign settings

   Review my proposed YouTube campaign settings against the attached blueprint. Review: campaign objective, campaign type, campaign name, conversion goals, budget, bids, locations, languages, networks, inventory settings, frequency controls, dates, and exclusions. Use only: MATCH, MISMATCH, MISSING, NOT EVIDENCED. Do not infer missing settings. Do not approve setup. Finish with BLOCKERS, REQUIRED CHANGES, READY FOR AUDIENCE BUILD, or RETURN TO TRADER.

   Do this

   Open: Google Ads → New Campaign → Video. Configure using the blueprint: objective, campaign type (Demand Gen / Video View / Video Reach), budget, bid strategy, locations, languages, networks, inventory settings, frequency controls, dates.

6. 03

   Build audience architecture

   Review this YouTube audience structure against the attached blueprint. Review: audience assignment, customer list usage, website visitor segments, viewer audiences, converter audiences, lookalike implementation, retargeting implementation, custom segments, audience exclusions, audience overlap, duplication across ad groups, and sequencing logic. Use only: MATCH, MISMATCH, MISSING, CONFLICT. Do not infer missing information. Do not invent audience sizes. Do not assume audience intent. Do not approve setup. Finish with BLOCKERS, DUPLICATIONS, CONFLICTS, READY FOR CREATIVE BUILD, or RETURN TO TRADER.

   Do this

   Build customer lists, website visitors, YouTube viewers, existing converters, lookalikes, custom segments, retargeting pools and exclusions exactly as defined in the blueprint.

7. 04

   Build video assets

   Review these YouTube video assets against the approved creative guidelines, audience strategy and landing pages. Check: video relevance, hook strength, branding visibility, CTA presence, creative theme consistency, audience relevance, mobile suitability, Shorts suitability, placement suitability, creative variation coverage, unsupported claims or offers, duplicate assets, missing assets, landing page relevance, and final URL alignment. Use only: PASS, EDIT, REMOVE, HUMAN REVIEW, NOT EVIDENCED. Do not invent offers, claims or promotions. Do not assume policy approval. Do not approve the campaign.

   Do this

   Real formats to cover: skippable in-stream, non-skippable in-stream, in-feed, bumper, outstream, masthead, Shorts, audio. For Shorts specifically, repurposing existing short-form video from other platforms is a legitimate, evidenced shortcut, not a fallback, an independent Ipsos study found it can increase long-term brand growth by 21% while maintaining attention and short-term sales effectiveness, don't assume Shorts creative always has to be built from scratch.

8. 05

   Reconcile the build against the blueprint

   Compare the approved YouTube Blueprint with the completed campaign build. For every setting, provide: SETTING, APPROVED VALUE, ACTUAL VALUE, STATUS, EVIDENCE, REQUIRED ACTION. Cover campaign identity and objective, conversion goals, budget and bidding, locations, languages, audiences, lookalikes, retargeting, exclusions, videos, landing pages, measurement, and frequency controls. Use only: MATCH, MISMATCH, MISSING, NOT EVIDENCED, NOT APPLICABLE. Do not infer missing settings. Do not modify the campaign. Do not approve launch. Finish with BLOCKERS, ITEMS REQUIRING REVIEW, and an overall status of READY FOR LAUNCH CHECK or RETURN TO TRADER.

   Do this

   Capture final campaign settings, audience structure, creative assets, measurement setup and frequency controls. Use screenshots where a setting doesn't export cleanly.

9. 06

   Final launch readiness review

   Review the final YouTube campaign evidence pack. Verify: approved campaign objective, conversion goal, budget, bidding strategy, locations, languages, audience implementation, lookalike implementation, retargeting implementation, exclusions, video coverage, Shorts coverage, CTV coverage, measurement implementation, conversion testing evidence, policy status, disapproved assets, and unresolved blockers. Use only: PASS, BLOCKER, HIGH RISK, NOT EVIDENCED, CONDITION ACCEPTED. Missing evidence is not a pass. Do not infer approval. Do not approve launch. Do not recommend optimisation actions. Finish with Launch Blockers, Accepted Conditions, Evidence Gaps, Items Requiring Review, and an overall status of READY FOR LAUNCH or NOT READY.

   Do this

   Gather final settings, audience evidence, creative evidence, measurement evidence, conversion test evidence and policy status. Have a second person check the campaign before it goes live.