Creative Formats & Assets

Call Ads vs Responsive Search Ads: Which One You Can Still Build

In short: Both are Search ad types, but only one of them is still creatable. Call Ads, formerly called call-only ads, lost the ability to be created in February 2026, and any still serving stop entirely in February 2027, with the phone-call job moving to a call asset attached to a Responsive Search Ad instead. Responsive Search Ads remain the only Search ad you can build from scratch, and Google's forward path for phone-first advertising is an RSA with a call asset, not a dedicated call ad. If you're setting up anything new today, that means an RSA - add a call asset when the phone call is the outcome you actually want.

By the AdFlint research team · Fact-checked against current Google and Meta platform behavior · Last reviewed July 2026

Call Ads

Google Search ads whose primary action is a phone call rather than a website visit, showing a tap-to-call button on mobile devices.

The ad serves mainly on phones and bills for the click that starts a call, with call durations reported and countable as conversions. It fits businesses that close by phone - services, clinics, urgent needs - where someone answers live. The mistake is running them without call tracking and ad scheduling around business hours, which pays for calls into voicemail and makes performance impossible to judge.

Full definition

Responsive Search Ads

Google's current search ad type, built from up to fifteen headlines and four descriptions that the system mixes into combinations per auction.

You supply assets, and Google assembles headline and description combinations tailored to each query, with the option to pin specific assets to fixed positions. It is now the only search ad you can create. Feed it genuinely distinct assets rather than fifteen rewordings of one line. The frequent mistake is pinning everything, which collapses the combination space and defeats the testing the format exists to do.

Full definition

Side by side.

The differences that actually change what happens in your account.

 Call AdsResponsive Search Ads
Can you build one todayNo - creation was removed in February 2026, and any still serving stop entirely in February 2027.Yes - it is the only Search ad type you can create.
Primary click action while liveTap to call, dialing straight from the ad.Click through to a landing page, with a call asset able to add a tap-to-call option.
Device eligibilityServed mainly on devices that can place a call.Serves on any device; a call asset's calling option only shows where relevant.
What you writeA business name, short descriptions, and the phone number itself.Up to fifteen headlines and four descriptions, with a call asset added on top.
Core conversion signalCall duration and call count, trackable as a conversion action.Website actions by default; a call asset can add call conversions alongside them.
Where it fits nowLegacy accounts only - nothing you can add to a new campaign.Any Search campaign, and the only route to phone-focused advertising going forward.
Failure modeTreating an old Call Ad as something to duplicate, or letting it run past February 2027 with no fallback in place.Skipping the call asset on a phone-focused account and losing the tap-to-call option entirely.

What actually separates them.

01

Call Ads can no longer be created as of February 2026, and any still serving stop completely in February 2027, while RSA has no creation restriction or sunset date attached to it.

02

The forward replacement for phone-focused advertising is not a new standalone ad type - it is a call asset attached to an RSA, so the phone number now rides alongside an ad that can still send clicks to a landing page.

03

A live Call Ad needs no landing page at all; an RSA with a call asset still defaults to a page click unless the searcher taps the phone number specifically.

04

Call duration counts as a direct conversion action on a Call Ad; on an RSA with a call asset, the call becomes an added conversion signal layered on top of whatever the site already tracks.

05

Existing Call Ads and RSAs can keep running side by side through the transition window, but only RSA - with a call asset for the phone option - is buildable in a new ad group today.

Which one should you use?

Use Call Ads when

  • You're auditing an account with Call Ads still serving and need to know why a new one can't be added next to them.
  • You're planning the move off Call Ads before the February 2027 date when they stop receiving impressions entirely.
  • You're trying to explain why an old phone-focused campaign is losing volume as Call Ads wind down.
  • A client asks why the call ad they've always used suddenly can't be duplicated for a new campaign.

Use Responsive Search Ads when

  • You're building any new Search campaign today, phone-focused or not - RSA is the only ad type you can create.
  • You want phone calls counted as a conversion but also want to keep the option of a landing page click.
  • You're moving a legacy Call Ads campaign forward and need to attach a call asset to its RSA replacement.
  • You want Google testing headline and description combinations while still surfacing your phone number on the ad.

Common questions.

Can I still create a new Call Ad in 2026?

No. Google removed the ability to create new call ads, formerly called call-only ads, in February 2026. Any that were created before that date keep serving until February 2027, after which they stop receiving impressions entirely, so treat existing ones as a shrinking asset rather than a template to reuse.

What replaces Call Ads once they stop serving?

A Responsive Search Ad with a call asset attached, not a new standalone call-focused ad type. The call asset, previously called a call extension, adds your phone number and a tap-to-call option to an RSA that can still send clicks to a landing page when someone doesn't want to call.

Will my existing Call Ads stop working right away?

No. Existing call ads keep serving through the transition window and only stop entirely in February 2027. You have time to set up RSAs with call assets in the same campaigns, but you cannot create additional call ads in the meantime, so plan the swap rather than waiting for the deadline.

Do I lose the ability to count calls as conversions once Call Ads are gone?

No. Call assets attached to an RSA can still report call duration and count qualifying calls as a conversion, the same underlying capability a standalone Call Ad had. What changes is the container - a dedicated ad becomes an attached asset - not the call-tracking mechanic itself.

Or stop choosing between them.

AdFlint picks the setting, writes the ads, and keeps optimizing inside the Google and Meta accounts you already own.

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