Google Call Ads Are Ending in 2027: How to Track Calls With Call Assets Instead
Google is retiring call ads. Per Google Ads Help, the option to create new call ads was removed in February 2026 and existing call ads stop receiving impressions in February 2027. The replacement is a responsive search ad with a call asset, which lets a searcher either call or click through, so you now have to track two call paths instead of one: calls from the ad itself and calls from your website after the click.
If you have relied on call ads, sometimes still called call-only ads, this is more than a format change. It changes where calls come from, and an account that only measures calls from the ad will under-report after the switch. This guide explains the difference and gives a migration checklist.
What is changing, in Google's words
Google's help page for call ads states the timeline plainly:
- February 2026: all options to create new call ads were removed.
- February 2027: existing call ads will stop receiving impressions.
Its recommendation is to add your phone numbers to responsive search ads as call assets. If your account still has call ads running, they continue to serve until the 2027 cutoff, but you cannot build new ones, so every month of delay is a month of not learning how the replacement performs.
Call ads vs call assets: the practical differences
| Call ad (call-only ad) | Responsive search ad with call asset | |
|---|---|---|
| What a tap on the headline does | Starts a phone call | Opens your landing page |
| How a searcher calls | Tapping the ad | Tapping the call button or number in the asset |
| Landing page required | A verification URL, not shown as the destination | Yes, a real landing page |
| Ad copy | Limited fields around the phone number | Multiple headlines and descriptions, combined automatically |
| Call paths to measure | One: calls from the ad | Two: calls from the asset, and calls from the website after a click |
| Works on desktop | Mobile devices that can place calls | Yes; the call asset shows where calls are possible, the ad shows everywhere |
| Status | New creation removed February 2026; stops serving February 2027 | Google's recommended format |
The row that matters for measurement is the fifth. With a call ad, there was exactly one way to convert. With a responsive search ad, a person can call from the asset, or click through, read your page and then call the number on the site, or fill out a form, or leave. Each of those needs its own measurement.
Why your call numbers will look different
Expect three shifts.
Fewer calls directly from the ad. A call ad forced the choice. A responsive search ad offers a website, and some people prefer to look before they call.
More calls from the website. Some of those visitors call from your landing page. If your site has no call tracking, these calls exist but appear nowhere in your Google Ads conversions.
A different mix of callers. People who visit a page first have read your prices, service area or reviews. Many advertisers find these callers are better informed. Whether that holds for you is something to measure, not assume.
The risk is judging the migration on the first number alone. An account that reports only calls from ads will show a drop, and someone will conclude the new format does not work, when the calls simply moved to a place the account cannot see.
The two call paths and how to track each
Path one: calls from the call asset
There are two ways to measure these.
Google call reporting. When call reporting is turned on, Google can route calls from your assets through a Google forwarding number and record that the call happened, when, and for how long. You then count calls above a minimum duration as conversions. This is free and takes minutes to set up. It tells you a call occurred. It does not tell you what was said or whether it was a lead.
A dedicated tracking number in the asset. You place a static tracking number from your call tracking platform in the call asset. Calls ring through to your business as usual, but they are recorded, transcribed and classified, and they sit in the same report as your calls from every other channel. The trade-off is that keyword-level detail for these direct calls comes from Google's reporting rather than the third-party platform, because the caller never visited your site.
Many advertisers run both: Google call reporting for the platform's own optimization signals and a tracking number for recording and quality.
Path two: calls from the website after a click
This is the path call-ad advertisers have often never had to think about, because their ads did not send traffic to a site.
To attribute these calls, the number shown on your landing page must change for visitors who arrived from an ad. Google offers its own website call conversion using a forwarding number snippet. A third-party platform does the same with a pool of dynamic numbers and also captures the click ID, so the call can be matched to the keyword and sent back to Google Ads as a conversion with its outcome attached.
Our comparison of dynamic call tracking vs static tracking numbers explains which type goes where, and the Google Ads call tracking guide covers the full wiring. If you need the click ID detail, see our walkthrough of GCLID capture and the Google Ads integration.
You now need a landing page that earns the call
A call ad needed only a verification URL. A responsive search ad sends people to a real page, and that page now does part of the selling. At a minimum it needs:
- The phone number visible without scrolling, as tappable text rather than an image, so both the visitor and the number-swap script can use it
- A clear statement of what you do and where
- Hours, so people know whether a call will be answered
- A fast load on mobile data
Number-swap scripts cannot replace a number baked into an image, and a slow page loses callers before the script runs. Test on a phone over a mobile connection, not on office wifi.
Migration checklist
- Inventory your call ads. Export them with their campaigns, ad groups, keywords and the last several months of call conversions. This is your baseline.
- Record the baseline properly. Note calls, calls over your duration threshold, cost per call and, if you have it, booked calls. You will compare against this.
- Build responsive search ads in the same ad groups. Reuse the messages that worked in your call ads as headlines and descriptions.
- Add call assets at the account, campaign or ad group level, with call reporting on, or with a dedicated tracking number.
- Set call asset schedules to match the hours someone answers. A call button shown when nobody picks up produces missed calls you paid for. Our missed call recovery guide covers what to do about the ones that slip through.
- Install website call tracking on the landing pages so calls after the click are attributed.
- Create conversion actions for both paths. Calls from ads and calls from the website, plus a qualified or booked call conversion if your platform supports it. Our guide to phone call conversion tracking explains which one to make primary.
- Run both formats in parallel while call ads still serve, and compare total calls across both paths, not just direct calls.
- Review the calls themselves. Listen to a sample from each path. Volume is only half the comparison.
- Pause call ads on your schedule, not Google's. Do it once the replacement is measured and stable, well before February 2027.
What about Local Services Ads and Performance Max?
The call ads change applies to Search campaigns. Local Services Ads are a separate product that charges per lead and uses Google's own tracked numbers; our guide to Local Services Ads call tracking covers that. Performance Max campaigns can also show call assets, and they bring their own attribution limits, described in our article on Performance Max call tracking.
Where third-party call tracking fits
Google's built-in tools answer how many calls and how long. They are free and worth turning on. They do not answer the questions that decide budget:
- Was this call a real lead, a wrong number or an existing customer?
- Did it book?
- What did the caller ask for?
- How do calls from Google compare with calls from Meta, organic search and the map listing?
Those need recording, transcription and classification across every channel. As of October 2026, CallFlux plans are flat monthly rates of $99, $249 and $499 with unlimited calls and no per-minute fees, and tracking numbers are $1.15 per month for local and $2.15 per month for toll-free. If you are comparing vendors, our roundup of the best call tracking software and our breakdown of call tracking cost are places to start.
Frequently Asked Questions
Are Google call ads going away?
Yes. According to Google Ads Help, all options to create new call ads were removed in February 2026, and existing call ads will stop receiving impressions in February 2027. Google recommends adding your phone numbers to responsive search ads as call assets instead.
What replaces call-only ads in Google Ads?
Responsive search ads with call assets. A call asset, formerly called a call extension, adds a phone number or call button to a standard search ad. Unlike a call ad, where every tap started a phone call, a responsive search ad lets the searcher either tap to call or click through to your landing page.
How do I track calls from call assets?
There are two paths to cover. Calls made directly from the asset are measured by turning on call reporting in Google Ads, or by using a dedicated static tracking number in the asset. Calls made after the person clicks through to your website are measured with a website call conversion, either Google's forwarding number snippet or a third-party dynamic number insertion pool that captures the click ID.
Will my call volume drop when I switch from call ads to call assets?
Calls made directly from the ad may fall, because searchers now have the option to visit your site instead of calling immediately. Some of those visitors will call from the website, so total calls can hold steady or change in either direction. Measure both paths before and after the switch; judging the migration on direct-from-ad calls alone will make it look worse than it is.
Do I need third-party call tracking if I use Google call assets?
Google's built-in call reporting counts calls and their duration at no cost, which is enough to see volume. It does not record or transcribe calls, tell you whether a call was a real lead, or attribute calls from other channels. A third-party platform adds recording, transcription, AI classification, cross-channel attribution and the ability to send qualified or booked calls back as conversions.
When should I migrate my call ads?
Before February 2027, and ideally well before, so the new ads have time to gather data while the old ones are still running. Building responsive search ads with call assets alongside existing call ads lets you compare performance and fix tracking gaps before the call ads stop serving.
Measure both paths before the cutoff
CallFlux tracks calls from ad assets and from your website in one place, with recording, transcription and AI call summaries on every plan. See Google Ads call tracking, check pricing, or contact the team for help mapping your call ads to the new format.