Creative Formats & Assets

Expanded Text Ads vs Responsive Search Ads: Why You Can't Build ETAs Anymore

In short: Both are Google Search text ad formats, but only one of them is buildable today. Expanded Text Ads gave exact control over three headlines and two descriptions in a fixed order. Responsive Search Ads replaced that with up to fifteen headlines and four descriptions that Google recombines per query. Google closed ETA creation and editing in mid-2022, so any old playbook needs its copy translated into RSA assets rather than preserved word for word. There is no real choice to make on a new build: it's RSA, and you pin only what genuinely must stay fixed.

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

Expanded Text Ads

Google's legacy fixed-copy search ad with three headlines and two descriptions, retired in favor of responsive search ads and no longer creatable.

For years this was the standard search unit, with headlines and descriptions you wrote and controlled exactly. Google stopped new creation and editing in mid-2022 and has since wound the format down, migrating advertisers to responsive search ads. If an old playbook references it, translate the copy into RSA assets instead. The recurring frustration is expecting the same line-by-line control, which RSAs deliberately do not offer.

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.

	Expanded Text Ads	Responsive Search Ads
Can you build one today	No - creation and editing closed in mid-2022.	Yes - it's the only search ad type you can create.
Headline and description slots	Fixed: three headlines, two descriptions, in the order you set.	Up to fifteen headlines and four descriptions; Google chooses which combination shows.
Who decides the final ad	You - the ad shown matches exactly what you wrote.	Google's ad serving system, per auction, based on the query and predicted performance.
Reporting granularity	One ad, one performance row, exactly as written.	Asset-level performance ratings per headline and description, not per exact combination.
What happens to old ones	May still serve in older accounts alongside RSAs, but no new edits beyond pause or removal.	Fully editable and required in every new search ad group.
Testing model	Manual - you write two ads and compare stats yourself.	Built-in combinatorial testing across whatever assets you supply.
Failure mode	Treating an old ETA-era script as something to still edit or clone.	Pinning every asset to recreate ETA's fixed order, which collapses the testing the format exists to do.

What actually separates them.

ETAs lock headline and description position, while RSAs let the serving system choose which of your assets appear together and in what order, so one ad group can show many different combinations.

RSA has no single WYSIWYG ad the way ETA did - performance reporting attaches to individual headlines and descriptions, not to one final creative.

New ad groups require at least one RSA and cannot add a new ETA, though an ad group created before mid-2022 may still run both formats side by side.

Pinning in RSA is optional and asset-level; ETA had no equivalent, since order was simply whatever you typed.

ETA performance data is frozen to whatever creative ran before the mid-2022 cutoff, while RSA data keeps accumulating and re-optimizing as Google tests new combinations.

Which one should you use?

Use Expanded Text Ads when

You're auditing an older account and see ETAs still serving, and need to know why they can't be edited, only paused or removed.
You're converting a legacy 'approved ad copy' spreadsheet into RSA headline and description assets.
You're troubleshooting why an ad group shows fewer serving ads than expected after Google wound remaining ETAs down.
A client asks why they can't just tweak an old high-performing ad the way they used to.

Use Responsive Search Ads when

You're setting up any new Search campaign or ad group today - it's the only option available.
You want Google's system to test headline and description combinations against real queries instead of one fixed variant.
You want asset-level performance labels to see which individual headlines are pulling weight.
You need certain legal or brand copy fixed in place, which sparing use of pinning can do without abandoning the format.

Run the numbers yourself

Google Search Ad Preview & Headline Checker

Preview a search ad, check headline and description lengths, and see whether your copy has enough usable assets before launch.

Open the free calculator

Common questions.

Can I still create an Expanded Text Ad in 2026?

No. Google closed ETA creation and editing in mid-2022, and every search ad group you build today needs a Responsive Search Ad instead. If you have a template referencing ETAs, treat each headline and description as one RSA asset rather than trying to recreate the old fixed layout.

Are my old ETAs still running?

Some accounts still have ETAs created before the cutoff, and Google allowed those to keep serving alongside RSAs rather than pulling them all at once. You can pause or remove them, but you cannot edit the copy or create new ones, so treat any that are still live as a shrinking, non-renewable asset.

Why does my RSA look different every time I search for my own ad?

That's the format working as intended - Google assembles headlines and descriptions dynamically per auction based on the query and what it predicts will perform best. If certain wording needs to always appear together or in a fixed spot, use pinning, but pin sparingly or you lose the combination testing the format is built for.

Should I just pin all my RSA assets to rebuild the old ETA layout?

You can, but it defeats the purpose - a fully pinned RSA behaves like a single fixed ad and stops Google from testing alternate combinations. Pin only the piece that truly cannot move, like a legal disclaimer or a required brand name, and leave the rest open.

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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