Creative Formats & Assets

Call Assets vs Image Assets

In short: Both extend a search ad beyond plain text, but one prompts an action and the other is purely visual. Call assets add a phone number or tap-to-call button that can trigger a trackable conversion by call duration. Image assets add a photograph, mostly on mobile placements, governed by visual-content policy rather than scheduling. Call assets need staffing-hours scheduling to avoid wasted spend; image assets need no time-of-day logic, only compliant creative. Choose call assets when a conversation closes the sale, and image assets when a photo does more convincing than more words.

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

Call Assets

Adds a phone number or tap-to-call button to a search ad, letting a searcher dial you without loading a landing page.

Formerly call extensions, these can use a Google forwarding number so calls report as conversions once they pass a duration threshold, and they can be scheduled to appear only during business hours. They fit service businesses where the phone closes the sale. The mistake is leaving them running outside staffed hours, which spends budget on calls nobody answers and buries the conversion data under missed rings.

Full definition

Image Assets

Adds a square or landscape image to a text search ad, shown mainly on mobile results alongside the headlines and description.

Previously image extensions, these attach visual inventory to an otherwise text-only search ad, and Google serves them when it predicts a lift. Images must meet size rules and cannot be collages or carry heavy text overlays and corner logos. The mistake is uploading marketing banners, because text-laden creative gets rejected in review, while a plain product or service photograph passes and renders cleanly beside the ad.

Full definition

Side by side.

The differences that actually change what happens in your account.

 Call AssetsImage Assets
What it addsA phone number or tap-to-call button.An image.
Interaction typeInitiates a phone call.Purely visual - no separate tap beyond the ad's own click.
Device behaviorTappable call button on mobile; plain text number on desktop.Renders mainly on mobile search placements, and only when Google predicts a lift.
Editorial concernNumber validity and forwarding-number setup, plus scheduling.Visual-content rules - no heavy text overlay, no collage, no corner logo.
Conversion trackingYes, via call duration threshold, especially with a forwarding number.No independent conversion event - it supports the click, it isn't one.
Auto-fill behaviorNone - a phone number can't be guessed or auto-selected.Google can auto-select an image from your site if you leave the field empty.
Failure modeRunning outside staffed hours, spending on calls nobody answers.Uploading a banner-style image that reads as an ad and gets rejected.

What actually separates them.

01

Call assets prompt an action - dialing - with its own trackable conversion path; image assets are passive visuals with no action of their own beyond the ad's click.

02

Call asset behavior changes by device, showing a tappable button on mobile and plain text on desktop; image assets either show or don't, with no equivalent device-based interaction shift.

03

Image assets are subject to visual-content policy - overlay text, collage, logo placement; call assets are subject to number and scheduling policy instead, an entirely different review surface.

04

Google can auto-select images from your site if you don't supply your own; there's no equivalent auto-fill for a call asset, since a phone number can't be inferred from a webpage.

05

Call assets need staffing-hours scheduling to avoid wasted spend; image assets need no time-of-day logic at all - a compliant image is either eligible to show or it isn't.

Which one should you use?

Use Call Assets when

  • Phone conversations close your sales better than a landing page does.
  • You have staffed hours defined and want the asset to reflect them.
  • You want call-duration conversion tracking without building separate call-tracking software.
  • Mobile searchers are a meaningful share of traffic, where tap-to-call removes real friction.

Use Image Assets when

  • Your product or service benefits visibly from a photo.
  • You have clean, policy-compliant imagery ready to upload.
  • You want visual differentiation from all-text competitor ads.
  • Most of your traffic is on mobile search results, where images render most often.

Common questions.

Can I run call assets and image assets on the same ad?

Yes, they're independent slots and frequently paired together on local-service ads - the image builds trust, the call button converts it.

Why doesn't my call button appear on desktop?

Desktop devices don't have a dialer to trigger, so the asset shows as a plain number instead of a tappable button - the content is still there, it just behaves differently by device.

What happens if I upload a banner-style image?

It typically gets rejected in review because heavy text overlays, collages, and corner logos read as display-ad creative rather than a product photo. A plain, uncluttered image clears review far more reliably.

Does adding these assets cost extra?

No, adding real estate through assets doesn't carry its own listing fee - you still pay per click or per qualifying call at the normal rate, the assets just make the ad itself larger and more useful.

Or stop choosing between them.

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