Call-only Google Ads stop working in February 2027

A dry cleaner in Brownsburg let me look at her Google Ads account last month. Two campaigns. One sending people to her website. One getting people to call her. She had set up the second one in 2022 with her nephew's help. She had not touched it since.

That phone call campaign is a call-only ad. Google stopped allowing new ones in February 2026. Existing ones stop getting impressions in February 2027.

She did not know. Most people running these do not.

What is a call-only ad?

Call-only ads were Google's simplest format for service businesses. Mobile-only. No website link. The ad showed your headline, your phone number, and a tap-to-call button. That was the whole thing.

For a plumber, an HVAC tech, a locksmith, a roofer, any shop where the sale starts with a call, these worked well. Set them up once, pointed them at the right keywords, and they ran. Google launched the format in 2015. A lot of accounts I look at still have one running.

What's changing, and when

Google announced the deprecation in October 2025. The dates:

• February 2026: New call-only ads can no longer be created.
• February 2027: All existing call-only ads stop receiving impressions.

If you have one running right now, it is still delivering. But in eight months, it goes dark. There is no gradual fade. The impressions stop.

Why this matters for service businesses

Phone calls are the primary conversion for most local service businesses. An HVAC company in Westfield getting 25 calls a month from a call-only campaign does not lose those slowly. The campaign stops, and those 25 calls per month are gone until someone sets up a replacement.

The accounts most at risk are the ones that got Google Ads working a few years ago and have not logged in since. There is nothing wrong with that. The platform is changing around them, and most owners have no reason to know it.

Your call-only campaign is still ringing. But it has eight months left.

How to migrate: the 20-minute fix

Google's replacement is a responsive search ad (RSA) with a call asset attached. You write up to 15 headlines and 4 descriptions. Google tests combinations and shows the best-performing mix for each search. On mobile, a call button still shows below the ad. It runs on desktop too, which call-only ads did not.

Step 1: Find the campaign. Log into Google Ads. Go to Campaigns. In the Type column, look for anything labeled Call. That is the one to migrate.

Step 2: Copy what your current ad says. Open the call-only ad. Write down the headlines, description, and phone number. These become your raw material for the RSA.

Step 3: Create a responsive search ad in the same campaign. Click Ads, then the plus button, then Responsive search ad. You need at least 3 headlines and 2 descriptions to save it. Write 5 or 6 if you can. More variation gives Google more to work with.

Step 4: Add a call asset. In the left nav, go to Assets, then Call. Click the plus button. Enter your phone number and business hours. Apply the asset at the campaign level.

Step 5: Add your website URL to the RSA. Your homepage works. If you have a services page or a booking page, that is better. The call button still shows on mobile regardless of where the click goes.

Step 6: Run both for two weeks, then compare. Watch call volume in the Calls report. If it holds, pause the old call-only ad. If it drops, revise your RSA headlines to be more direct: "Call us for a free estimate," "We answer 24 hours," "Book your service today."

Does this apply to me?

Log into Google Ads. Look at the Type column in Campaigns. If any campaign says Call, you need to act.

If you run Search campaigns or Performance Max campaigns, you are already on the current format. Check that a call asset is attached in the Assets section, but those campaigns are not being retired.

If you do not run Google Ads at all, this post does not apply to you.

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February 2027 is eight months away. That sounds like time to spare. I have watched businesses in this situation wait until January and scramble. The migration is not hard. It is the forgetting that costs money.

Set a calendar reminder for September 1. Have this done by then.

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Sources

#	Source	What it backed up
1	Action Required: Transition from call ads to call assets	Official Google announcement: February 2026 creation cutoff, February 2027 impression sunset.
2	How to transition from call ads to call assets	Google's step-by-step migration guide, basis for the 6-step migration above.
3	Google to phase out call-only ads by 2027	Search Engine Land coverage of the deprecation announcement.
4	Google Sets Deadline to Retire Call-Only Ads	Additional context on timeline and transition.