Google Is Killing Call-Only Ads: Here’s What You Need to Do
If you’ve been running Google Ads for a while, you may have gotten an email recently with the subject line “Action Required: Transition from call ads to call assets.” Google has been talking about this change for a while, but now it’s official. Call-only ads are going away, and if you don’t make some updates, your ads will stop showing.
Here are the key dates:
February 2026 is when you lose the ability to create new call-only ads. February 2027 is when your existing call-only ads stop running entirely.
So you have time, but not unlimited time. Let’s walk through what this means and what you need to do.
First, Check If This Even Affects You
Not everyone needs to worry about this. Call-only ads are a specific ad type where the only thing the ad does is trigger a phone call. There’s no website link. When someone taps the ad, it just dials your number. These were popular with service businesses like plumbers, auto repair, locksmiths, and anyone else who just wanted the phone to ring.
If you’re running regular search ads that happen to have a phone number attached, you’re already set up the way Google wants. That phone number is a “call asset,” and you’re good to go.
To check, log into your Google Ads account and look at your ads. If you see ads that have a website URL and a phone number, those are search ads with call assets. You’re fine. If you see ads where the only action is “Call” with no website destination, those are call-only ads, and those are the ones you need to replace.
Why Google Is Making This Change
Google wants everyone using responsive search ads. These are the ads where you provide multiple headlines and descriptions, and Google’s system mixes and matches them to find the best performing combinations for different searches.
The old call-only ads were simple. You wrote your headlines, attached your phone number, and that was it. Google is moving away from that kind of static ad format across the board. They want the flexibility to test different combinations and optimize automatically.
Whether that’s actually better for your business is a fair question, but it’s the direction things are going and it is always good to stay in compliance.
How to Make the Switch
If you do have call-only ads that need to be replaced, here’s the process:
Start by documenting what you have. Look at your existing call-only ads and write down the headlines, descriptions, and which campaigns they’re in. Note the performance numbers too so you have a baseline to compare against later.
Next, create your call asset. Go to Assets in the left menu, then click the plus button and select Call. Enter your business phone number. You can set it to only show during your business hours, which is useful if you don’t want calls coming in at 10pm.
Then create a new responsive search ad in the same campaign or ad group where your call-only ad was running. You’ll need at least 3 headlines and 2 descriptions, but you can add up to 15 headlines and 4 descriptions. Use the copy from your old call-only ad as a starting point, then add variations.
Once your new responsive search ad is running with the call asset attached, let both ads run side by side for a few weeks. Compare the results. When you’re confident the new setup is performing well, pause the old call-only ad.
So to recap here is what you need to do:
Create responsive search ads with call assets.
This is the actual migration. You’ll need:
- 3-15 headlines (at least 3 required)
- 2-4 descriptions (at least 2 required)
- A call asset attached at the campaign or ad group level with your phone number
Set up the call asset
This is under Assets > Call. You can set it to show only during business hours, which is nice for a service business like auto glass.
Let both run in parallel for a bit
Compare performance before sunsetting the old call-only ads.
Don’t Wait Until the Last Minute
You have until February 2027 before your call-only ads stop serving entirely, but I wouldn’t recommend waiting that long. Making the switch now gives you time to test and optimize. If something isn’t working, you want to find out while you still have your old ads as a backup.
If you need help with this transition or want someone to handle it for you, feel free to reach out.
