Google blocked new call only ads in January 2026 and stops the old ones in February 2027. Turn on call reporting first and check how recording and AI call scoring work in your account. Then add call assets to responsive search ads in the same ad groups, and run old and new side by side until the new ads log calls.
What Changed
- Creating new call only ads was blocked in every Google Ads tool in January 2026.
- Existing call only ads stop serving in February 2027.
- The replacement is a responsive search ad with a call asset, up to 15 headlines and 4 descriptions.
- Call recording is now on by default, and with it only AI qualified calls count as conversions.
- A tap on a call asset is charged like any other click, and call assets can be scheduled.
The Dates, and Why Most Guides Are Wrong Now
We run Google Ads for locksmiths, plumbers, bail bond offices and mobile mechanics. For years the call only ad was the workhorse in those accounts. It showed a phone number, and a tap dialed the shop. That ad type is going away.
Google's developer blog laid out the dates on October 9, 2025. In January 2026, creating new call only ads was blocked in the Google Ads website, Google Ads Editor, Search Ads 360 and the API. That includes copying an old one. In February 2027, all call only ads stop serving.
The API deprecation list says the same thing in plain terms. Existing call only ads stop serving in February 2027, and Google points everyone to responsive search ads with call assets.
Search for this topic and much of what comes up still teaches you how to build a call only ad, with old screenshots and no end date. That advice is dead. You cannot build a new call ad to test a fresh offer or a new town. And in about four months the old ones go dark on their own.
What Replaces Call Only Ads
The replacement is a normal search ad with a phone number attached. Google calls the ad a responsive search ad and the number a call asset. You write several headlines and descriptions, and Google mixes them to fit each search. Google's help page says you can give one ad up to 15 headlines and 4 descriptions, with at least 3 headlines and 2 descriptions. That is a big change from one fixed call ad.
Google's own reason, from the developer blog, is that advertisers generally see better results and lower costs per call lead with responsive ads and call assets. Treat that as Google's claim, not a promise for your account. Test it with your own numbers.
The call asset is the part that keeps the phone ringing. These are the rules that matter most.
- Adding a call asset costs nothing. A tap on its call button is charged as a normal click, the same as any other click on the ad.
- You can schedule call assets so they only show during the hours your business can take calls.
- Write the number in E.164 style, with a plus sign, the country code and no spaces. Google's verification page says putting it in that format in your site's code helps its crawler find and verify the number.
- If your site swaps numbers by traffic source, you can verify by proving you own the domain instead, for example by linking Search Console.
For an owner, the real difference is simple. A call only ad sent every tap to your phone. A responsive ad with a call asset can send a person to your phone or to your website, and Google decides which. That is fine if your site books jobs. It is a leak if your site is slow or hides the number. Our piece on sites that rank but never ring covers that leak in detail.
The Counting Is Where Shops Lose Calls
The ad format is the easy part. The counting is where the leads go missing.
Most small shops judge an ad by one thing. Did the phone ring? When you swap the format, the calls can keep coming while the report shows nothing. Or the report can count wrong numbers as leads. Either way, Google's bidding is learning from bad data, and so are you.
Calls from ads are counted through a Google forwarding number. Google says the number starts working when you turn on call reporting in account settings. It shows in your call asset, logs the time, length, campaign and ad group, then rings your real line. Google tries to match your area code, and falls back to a regional or toll free number.
The conversion that matters is Calls from ads. Google's tracking page says to make sure call reporting is on and that the Calls from ads action is active and set as a primary goal. You set a minimum call length, and calls shorter than that are not counted. You can check real call lengths in the call details report.
Google Changed How Calls Count, Too
This is the part almost nobody has written about yet. Call recording is now on by default in Google Ads. Google says it stays off only if you turned it off before, or your business was flagged as healthcare or financial services. Callers hear a short notice that the call is recorded.
With recording on, Google's AI listens and decides which calls were real leads. Its page on AI qualified call leads says that when recording is on, only qualified calls count as conversions. Robocalls, spam and misdials that used to pass the length test get filtered out. If a call cannot be recorded, Google falls back to call length.
Recording only works when both phone numbers are in the United States or Canada. Calls from location assets are not recorded for now. Turn it off under Account settings, then Call ads, if your callers share things you should not keep.
Our take is that this is mostly good news for a trade shop. Spam calls were inflating the numbers. But it means your conversion count can drop on the same week you switch formats, for a reason that has nothing to do with the new ads. Write down the date you switch, and compare booked jobs, not just conversions.
The Switch, Step by Step
- Write down what you have. Export every call only ad, its ad group, its number and its copy. Note which numbers are tracking lines from another system.
- Turn on call reporting. Do it before you build anything, so the new ads count calls from day one.
- Check the conversion. Find Calls from ads under Goals. Make it active and primary. Decide whether you want AI scoring with recording on, or call length with recording off.
- Add call assets. Use E.164 format and make sure the number shows on your site. Put them at the ad group level when towns or services use different lines.
- Build the responsive ads. Put them in the same ad groups as the old call ads, with the call assets attached and a real landing page as the final URL.
- Set the hours. Schedule the call assets for staffed hours only, and check your account time zone first.
- Run both, then cut. Leave the old call ads on until the new ads are approved and logging calls. Then remove the old ones.
Want help with the copy? Pin the one line that must always show, like your town or your license, to headline position one. Google's help page notes that pinned text appears in every ad when pinned to headline one, headline two or description one. Pin as little as you can, since every pin limits the mixes Google can test.
Hours Matter More Than They Used To
A call ad that rings an empty office is wasted money. With call assets you can stop that. Google says you can schedule call assets to show only during the hours your business can take calls. Turn them off at lunch if the front desk leaves.
That matters even more if you also run Local Services Ads. Google began billing some missed calls there on October 1, and we covered the details in our missed call story. Two ad programs now punish a phone nobody picks up. The fix for both is the same. Answer the phone, or do not advertise that hour.
Not sure how many calls you miss now? Our missed call calculator puts a rough cost on it from your own numbers.
The Switch Day Checklist
| Check | Done when |
|---|---|
| Inventory | Every call only ad, number and ad group is in a sheet |
| Call reporting | On in account settings |
| Conversion | Calls from ads is active and primary |
| Recording choice | You decided on AI scoring or call length, on purpose |
| Call assets | E.164 number, verified, at the right level |
| New ads | Responsive ads live in the same ad groups |
| Landing page | Fast, number at the top, one page per job or town |
| Schedule | Call assets show only in staffed hours |
| Overlap | Old and new ran together until the new ones logged calls |
| Switch date | Written down, so the report makes sense later |
Our Read on the Change
This change matters less for clicks than the coverage suggests, and more for counting. A good call ad becomes a good responsive ad with a call asset. The words can stay close to the same. What breaks is the report. A shop that skips call reporting, or leaves the call conversion as secondary, will think its calls dropped when they were never counted.
So do it in order. Turn on the counting, build the new ads, run both and only then pull the old ones. Do it this month, not in January. Wait until the old ads stop and you get no overlap, and you lose the side by side data that proves the new setup works.
How We Run Phone Lead Campaigns
When we take over an account with call only ads, we do not touch the ads first. We put tracked numbers on every channel, set the recording choice on purpose and check that Calls from ads is primary. Only then do we build the responsive ads with call assets, in the same ad groups, and run them beside the old ones until the new ones log calls.
We also look at the landing page, because the new format will send some taps there. The number goes at the top, the page loads fast and every town gets its own page. That is the setup behind our Abba Bail Bonds case study, where the call is the whole business.
Our own numbers from that account: CallRail tracked 11,665 first time callers in a 25 month window, and the Los Angeles line went from 181 to 215 first time callers in the same 28 days of January, a year apart. Those are tracked calls on our client's lines, not ad clicks.
To see how we build and report an account, read our Google Ads management page. If you run a lock shop, our locksmith websites page shows the kind of page we send phone ad traffic to.
Evidence
Every number in this story comes from one of these. If a figure is ours, the paragraph says so.
- Google Ads Developer Blog, upgrade your call only ads to responsive search ads with call assets (October 9, 2025)
- Google Ads API, feature deprecations and unversioned changes
- Google Ads Help, about responsive search ads
- Google Ads Help, about assets
- Google Ads Help, phone number verification for call and location assets
- Google Ads Help, about phone call conversion tracking
- Google Ads Help, Google forwarding number
- Google Ads Help, about AI qualified call leads
- Google Ads Help, manage your call recording settings and eligibility
Clickflame builds the websites and runs the local search and ads for service businesses that live on the phone ringing. See how we run google ads for service shops, look at the work, or pick a time and we will look at your numbers with you.
Help Desk Answers
Can I still make a call only ad in Google Ads?
No. Google's developer blog says creating new call only ads, including copies of old ones, was blocked in January 2026 in the Google Ads website, Google Ads Editor and the API. Phone leads now come through call assets on responsive search ads.
Will my old call only ads keep running?
Only until February 2027. Google says all call only ads stop serving then. Have the replacement running and counting calls well before that date.
Do I lose my call tracking when I switch?
Not if you set it up first. Turn on call reporting, check that the Calls from ads conversion is active and primary, and run the new ads beside the old ones until they record calls. Then remove the old ads.
Does a call from a call asset cost more than a click?
No. Google charges a normal click when someone taps the call button on a call asset. Adding the asset itself costs nothing.
Why did my call conversions drop after recording turned on?
Google now uses AI on call recordings to judge lead quality. With recording on, only qualified calls count as conversions, so robocalls, spam and misdials that used to pass the length test are filtered out. Fewer counted calls can mean cleaner data, not fewer customers.
Can I show the call button only when someone can answer?
Yes. Google lets you schedule call assets by day and hour, so they show only during the hours your business can take calls.
