Performance Max AI video: sourced, enhanced or auto-generated?

Performance Max has three separate AI video features, and only one of them changes your own clip. Video enhancements are on by default and make vertical, square or shorter versions of a video you uploaded. Auto-generated videos appear only when an asset group has no active uploaded video, and they switch off the moment you upload one. Sourced videos are opt-in, off by default, and add videos Google finds on sources you approve. So the way to keep Google's AI away from your creative is to upload your own video in all three shapes.

This comes from Google's pages on sourced videos, video automation, auto-generated video ads and campaign specs, all read on 2026-10-03. The Sume side is from its video generation and Video Router docs. An earlier post covers the API setting for the crawl; this one is about what each feature does in the interface.

What does each feature do, and what turns it off?

Google's pages are consistent about the split. The video automation page says enhancements are created from your existing videos and auto-generated videos are created when you have no active uploaded video; it also says enhancements do not apply to auto-generated videos, and that only enhanced assets that pass quality reviews are added.

Sourced videos are the odd one out. Google AI crawls approved sources (social media platforms, campaign landing pages and linked YouTube channels), picks videos by relevance, performance potential and best-practice adherence, and refreshes them on a recurring basis. The page's requirements are a daily budget above $5 USD and that videos be uploaded to YouTube to serve.

What happens to my assets when Google generates the video?

The auto-generated page ties the video to its inputs: if you delete or edit the original assets, the auto-generated video is deleted. In reporting, Performance Max labels these videos "Automatically created", while Demand Gen labels its own "Advertiser". Auto-generated video is supported in App, Performance Max and Demand Gen campaigns, and not in Video action, Video views or Video reach campaigns.

That matters if you test creative. An asset group with no uploaded video can end up serving a clip you never saw, built from images you may have meant for something else. Check the asset report before you read results.

What do I upload to stay in control?

The spec page asks for videos of 10 seconds or more in three orientations: horizontal 16:9, square 1:1 and vertical 9:16. You can add up to 15 per orientation, with at least one in each format. It also says that to reach Excellent ad strength and prevent auto-generation you must upload your own videos in all three formats. That makes three masters the unit of work, not one clip and a hope that enhancements fill the gaps.

With Sume, generate each orientation as its own job rather than cropping one clip, so the framing is composed for the shape. Read the model's limits from GET /v1/videos/models first: the documented example lists seedance-2 with 16:9, 1:1 and 9:16 among its aspect ratios and 4 to 15 seconds. The request below asks for 12 seconds, above Google's 10-second floor, with a different Idempotency-Key per shape.

for ratio in 16:9 1:1 9:16; do
  curl -X POST https://api.sume.com/v1/video-router/generate \
    -H "Authorization: Bearer $SUME_API_KEY" \
    -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
    -H "Idempotency-Key: pmax-master-${ratio/:/x}" \
    -d "{\"model\": \"seedance-2\", \"prompt\": \"$PROMPT\", \"resolution\": \"1080p\", \"duration\": 12, \"aspect_ratio\": \"$ratio\", \"mode\": \"async\"}"
done

How do I check the masters before upload?

Run each file through Sume's video inspect with frames: false. The probe returns duration_seconds, width, height and has_audio, enough to confirm every file is at least 10 seconds and the shape matches its slot. Then upload them in the campaign. Google's sourced-videos page says all videos must be uploaded to YouTube to serve in campaigns, while the spec page names no hosting requirement, so confirm how your account takes the upload.

One honest limit: Google's pages describe what its systems do, not how often. Nothing here says how many enhanced or sourced videos serve for a given campaign, so treat the asset report as the source of truth for your account.

• Sourced videos: off until you opt in; budget above $5 USD a day.
• Enhancements: on until you uncheck Enhancement under Asset optimization, Video.
• Auto-generated: disabled once an uploaded video is active; deleted if its source assets change.
• Upload 16:9, 1:1 and 9:16, each 10 seconds or longer.