Google ends call ads in February 2026, shifts advertisers to RSA format

On October 3, 2025, the platform announced call ads—also known as call-only ads—will be deprecated. Advertisers must now transition to using call assets within responsive search ads, marking another significant shift in the platform's advertising structure.

The deprecation follows a two-phase timeline. Starting February 2026, all options to create new call-only ads will be removed from the platform. Existing call-only ads will continue to operate for one additional year. By February 2027, all existing call ads will stop receiving impressions entirely.

Sheetal Jain, Product Manager at Google Ads, posted the announcement explaining the rationale behind the change. Call ads are being replaced by responsive search ads with call assets, which use artificial intelligence to ensure advertisements match user needs while highlighting brand attributes. By providing multiple headlines and descriptions, RSAs automatically test various combinations to identify those most likely to perform for a given search query and user.

"This is true for many of your business goals, and calls are no different," Jain stated in the announcement.

The decision affects advertisers who have relied on call-only ads to generate phone call leads directly from search results. These specialized ad formats allowed businesses to prioritize phone calls over website visits, displaying only a phone number and business information without requiring a landing page URL.

For advertisers who already maintain an active call asset in their accounts and campaigns, along with at least one responsive search ad in each ad group, the transition should require minimal intervention. Those without this setup will need to proactively replace their call-only ads with responsive search ads featuring call assets.

Technical implementation requirements

The platform evolved responsive search ads capabilities significantly throughout 2024 and 2025. RSAs employ artificial intelligence to dynamically generate advertisements through a three-phase process: analyzing search context, assembling asset combinations, and evaluating which variations show the most promise.

According to technical documentation, the system requires substantial data volume to move beyond its initial learning phase. Individual assets need more than 500 impressions, while complete ads must accumulate over 2,000 impressions in the "Google Search: Top" segment across a 30-day period.

Asset diversity proves crucial for optimal AI performance. The documentation emphasizes that providing multiple variations of headlines and descriptions enables the system to test more combinations and identify the most effective matches for different search contexts.

Call assets function as extensions that can be added to responsive search ads. When users click these elements, they initiate a phone call to the advertiser's number rather than visiting a website. The feature supports multiple integration options, though the deprecation specifically targets standalone call ads rather than call extensions.

Industry context and broader platform changes

The deprecation aligns with a systematic pattern of feature eliminations across advertising platforms. Google has consistently moved toward automation and AI-driven solutions throughout 2024 and 2025, reducing manual campaign management options in favor of machine learning-powered alternatives.

Enhanced CPC bidding for Search and Display campaigns was phased out between October 2024 and March 2025. The platform automatically migrated remaining campaigns to Manual CPC bidding, reflecting the broader industry trend toward sophisticated, AI-driven advertising solutions.

The Google Ads API infrastructure underwent significant changes with monthly releases beginning January 2026. The announcement on September 4, 2025, increased major releases from three to four annually while extending support to one full year. This acceleration responds to developer requests for faster access to features available in the Google Ads user interface.

Additional deprecations have included shared ad functionality removal in October 2025 and the elimination of similar audiences from Google Ads and DV360 in 2023. Each change pushes advertisers toward asset-based advertising formats where advertisements are dynamically assembled from pools containing headlines, descriptions, and images.

Implications for call-focused campaigns

For businesses prioritizing phone call conversions, the transition requires campaign restructuring. Unlike call-only ads that displayed exclusively phone contact information, responsive search ads with call assets combine standard ad components—headlines, descriptions, and display URLs—alongside call-to-action buttons.

Harrison Jack Hepp, who specializes in paid search management and consulting for local businesses, noted in response to the announcement that most call ads have already stopped serving or performing effectively. This observation suggests the platform may have already begun de-emphasizing the format through algorithmic changes.

The deprecation also addresses fraud concerns that have plagued call-only ads. Eric de la Torre, Growth & Performance Marketing Manager specializing in hospitality digital marketing, highlighted how thousands of fraudulent ads have been deployed using phone ads. These advertisements don't require a URL or landing page for authentication, allowing fraudulent companies to appear as legitimate businesses. In Mexico, fraudulent travel agencies have exploited this format to operate call centers and execute reservation scams.

"So far, Google has not managed to stop this problem," de la Torre stated in his response to the announcement.

Migration strategy and timeline considerations

Advertisers have approximately 16 months from the October 3, 2025 announcement to the February 2027 final sunset to complete their migration. The platform strongly recommends proactive replacement of call-only ads with responsive search ads featuring call assets rather than waiting for automatic discontinuation.

The step-by-step guide provided by Google outlines the transition process from call-only ads to call assets within RSAs. Advertisers must ensure every ad group contains at least one responsive search ad before the February 2026 deadline when creation options disappear.

Ashis Patra, who specializes in e-commerce ROAS engineering, emphasized the importance of early preparation. "Good reminder to audit all ad groups now and ensure every RSA has a call asset before February 2026—it'll save headaches later," Patra stated in response to the announcement.

The transition coincides with other asset-related policy changes, including message asset requirements announced September 30, 2025. These verification requirements for businesses using messaging features demonstrate the platform's increased emphasis on authentication and fraud prevention across all communication-focused ad formats.

Performance implications and optimization considerations

Responsive search ads operate fundamentally differently than traditional call ads. Analysis of over 1 million ads revealed surprising trends in ad creative performance. Shorter, more concise headlines generally performed better, contrary to conventional wisdom of maximizing character limits. For descriptions, moderate length appeared optimal, striking a balance between providing sufficient information and avoiding excessive verbosity.

The length of ad creative plays a significant role in performance. Research found that sentence case often leads to better performance than title case, particularly for RSAs. This trend may be attributed to sentence case more closely resembling organic search results, which users typically perceive as higher quality.

Georgi Zayakov, Senior Consultant for Digital Advertising, responded to the announcement with a simple "RIP, Taxi" emoji, acknowledging the end of a format that many advertisers had already moved away from.

The AI-powered optimization underlying responsive search ads requires advertisers to relinquish some control over exact ad presentation. The system automatically tests combinations to identify which performs best for different search contexts, making it impossible to guarantee specific headlines or descriptions appear together consistently.

Platform automation trajectory

The call ads deprecation represents another step in platform automation expansion. Campaign creation interface modifications shifted from format-first selection to channel-based setup that defaults to Performance Max when advertisers select all available channels. This fundamental workflow reversal occurred in September 2025, further demonstrating the platform's systematic effort to streamline campaign creation while reducing distinct campaign type selections.

Performance Max campaigns serve over one million active advertisers across the advertising network. The automated campaign format utilizes machine learning algorithms to optimize ad placement, bidding, and audience targeting across Search, YouTube, Display, Discover, Gmail, and Maps properties simultaneously.

The timing aligns with broader competitive pressures within the programmatic advertising sector, where user experience and platform adoption rates directly impact market share and revenue growth. Major technology companies continue expanding their advertising technology offerings, creating pressure for platforms to maintain operational efficiency.

Display & Video 360 underwent similar streamlining, eliminating 41 deprecated dimensions and metrics associated with discontinued features in September 2025. The removal targeted metrics that remained in the system after their corresponding features were retired, including television bidding data, TrueView remarketing parameters, and out-of-home advertising measurements.

Strategic considerations for advertisers

Marketing teams managing call-focused campaigns should begin auditing their account structures immediately. The February 2026 deadline for creating new call ads provides limited time to restructure campaigns, test responsive search ad performance with call assets, and ensure conversion tracking accurately captures phone call conversions.

Advertisers must evaluate whether their existing call ads drive sufficient performance to justify migration efforts. For campaigns where call ads have already declined in effectiveness, the deprecation may accelerate a transition that would have occurred regardless of platform changes.

The shift toward asset-based advertising formats fundamentally changes how advertisers approach campaign management. Rather than creating static ads with guaranteed presentation, advertisers must develop diverse asset libraries that enable AI systems to optimize combinations for different user contexts.

This philosophical shift requires different skill sets within marketing teams. Expertise in ad copywriting evolution from crafting perfect individual ads toward creating comprehensive asset pools that perform well across various combinations and contexts.

Historical precedent and future implications

Google has maintained a consistent pattern of deprecating features that don't align with its automation strategy. Message extensions were sunset in January 2020, with the platform stating after that date, extensions would no longer serve and users could not create new extensions or update existing ones.

Accelerated delivery disappeared from search and shopping campaigns in September 2019. The platform maintained only standard delivery active in all search, shopping, and shared budget campaigns, with exceptions for display and video campaigns.

Each deprecation follows similar timelines: announcement with advance notice, a period where existing features continue operating, and eventual complete removal. The consistency suggests future features that don't align with AI-powered automation face similar trajectories.

For the marketing community, these changes signal the importance of maintaining flexibility in campaign management approaches. Reliance on specific ad formats or features creates vulnerability when platform priorities shift. Building campaigns around core conversion goals rather than specific tactical implementations provides more resilience against platform evolution.

The call ads deprecation, while significant for advertisers who relied heavily on the format, reflects broader industry trends toward consolidation and automation. As platforms accumulate more data and improve machine learning capabilities, the perceived value of providing advertisers with numerous specialized options diminishes in favor of comprehensive automated solutions.

Timeline

• January 2020: Message extensions sunset from Google Ads APIs
• August 2023: Similar audiences deprecated from Google Ads and DV360
• March 2025: Enhanced CPC bidding removed for Search and Display campaigns
• July 2025: Shared ad functionality eliminated from Google Ads API
• September 2025: Campaign creation interface modified to prioritize Performance Max
• September 2025: Display & Video 360 deprecated 41 metrics associated with discontinued features
• October 3, 2025: Google announces call ads deprecation
• October 2025: Message asset requirements introduced with verification enforcement
• January 2026: Google Ads API shifts to monthly releases
• February 2026: All options to create new call ads removed
• February 2027: Existing call ads stop serving completely

Summary

Who: Advertisers using call ads (call-only ads) in Google Ads, particularly businesses prioritizing phone call conversions including local services, professional services, and direct response marketers.

What: Google is deprecating call ads, removing the ability to create new call-only ads in February 2026 and stopping all existing call ads from serving in February 2027. Advertisers must transition to responsive search ads with call assets.

When: The announcement was made on October 3, 2025, with a two-phase implementation: creation options removed February 2026, complete sunset February 2027.

Where: The change affects all Google Ads accounts globally, specifically impacting Search campaigns that utilize call ads as a standalone ad format.

Why: The platform is consolidating features toward AI-powered responsive search ads that automatically test headline and description combinations. This aligns with broader automation initiatives, reduces specialized ad formats, addresses fraud concerns with call-only ads, and pushes advertisers toward asset-based advertising models where ads are dynamically assembled rather than statically created.