Google to stop voice ads in 2027: what does this mean for your business?

The message that many entrepreneurs Mist

Google didn't make a big splash in the media, but the announcement is definite: Call-Only Ads, the advertisements that let visitors call directly without going to a website, will stop in February 2027. Anyone still receiving phone leads via Google Ads in this way will need to adjust their campaigns. And the clock is already ticking.

For a painter in Tilburg, a gardener in Eindhoven, or a handyman service in Den Bosch, this might sound technical. But it directly impacts your phone, your diary, and your revenue. Because if you do nothing now and only wake up in January 2027, you'll have a problem. Campaigns that aren't transferred in time will stop running. Your advertisements will disappear. Your phone will go silent.

The good news is that Google isn't completely removing the call option. There's a replacement, and in many cases, it even works better than the old Call-Only Ads. But it requires action, and it requires you to start now. This article explains exactly what's changing, why Google is taking this step, and what you concretely need to do.

Bell advertisements Precisely?

Call-Only Ads are a special type of Google Ads that have been popular with trades businesses for years. The reason is simple: when someone clicks on your ad, their website doesn't open, but their phone starts dialling immediately. This is ideal for businesses that rely on appointments, emergency jobs, and direct contact.

A roofer in Breda doesn't need a website that converts perfectly. They need people to call. A plumber dealing with a leak needs someone to speak to immediately, not someone who wants to fill out a form. A paver laying a patio at the weekend also wants to be available for calls in the evening if someone wants a quote. Call-Only Ads are a perfect fit for that kind of work: accessible, direct, and action-oriented.

They work exclusively on mobile devices, as you make calls from your phone. That made them very effective in the early years of mobile search. But the mobile world has since become much more complex, and Google has taken a different course. This has consequences for this advertising format.

Why Google Stop it

For years, Google has been moving towards greater automation and AI in advertising. Performance Max, Responsive Search Ads (RSA) and Dynamic Search Ads (DSA) are all examples of ad formats where the system itself determines the most effective combination. You provide the input, Google tests and optimises, and over time the system knows exactly which combination of headline and description delivers the best results.

Call-Only Ads don't fit into that model. They were manual, rigid, and offered Google's AI hardly any room to learn. Furthermore, they only work on mobile, whereas RSA ads can run everywhere and adapt to the searcher's device. Google wants campaigns that are widely deployable, automatically optimisable, and usable for their AI-driven prediction models. That's what Call-Only Ads couldn't offer.

Google’s decision is therefore not arbitrary. It is part of a broader trend in which older, manual ad formats are being phased out in favour of smarter, self-optimising systems. Google previously did the same with Expanded Text Ads. Call-Only Ads are next in line. Anyone familiar with the patterns knows that this kind of phase-out is always followed by further similar steps. It is a structural shift, not an isolated incident.

What this says about the future of advertising is clear. The more you understand about RSA and how you integrate your bid options within it, the better your campaigns will perform. Those who learn this now will have a head start on competitors who wait until it's too late. The market for local advertisers is changing rapidly, but the advantage always goes to the one who moves early.

What this means for you as an entrepreneur

Perhaps you're thinking: my marketing agency will handle that. That's possible, but in that case, it's wise to check now if your agency is already aware of this change and has a plan. Not every agency is proactive. Some wait until there's a problem before taking action. And if you only ask in February 2027 why your ads have stopped, it will be too late to make swift changes.

If you manage your own Google Ads, the situation is clearer: you need to take action yourself. Open Google Ads, go to Campaigns and see which campaigns are listed as Call campaign type. If you see them, you know there's work to be done. Note down how much budget is in these campaigns and how many calls come out of them per month. This will give you an idea of the urgency and what you have to lose if you do nothing.

What you absolutely must not do is wait. Google doesn't always announce these kinds of changes with large notifications in your dashboard. The deadline is February 2027, but migrating campaigns takes time, testing periods, and budget to build data. If you start in December 2026, there won't be enough time for the new campaigns to learn and optimise properly. Start now, so that you know what works well in advance of the deadline and your phone leads are maintained.

The replacement that works: RSA with VAT

The replacement that Google is offering is a combination of RSA (Responsive Search Ads) with a so-called call asset, which in Dutch is also called a "belopmaak". That sounds complicated, but in practice, it simply means this: you build a normal text ad that can run on all devices, and you add a call button to it that is visible on mobile.

The result strongly resembles a Call-Only Ad. Someone sees your ad on their phone, clicks on the phone number, and calls you directly. The difference is that the same ad can display a website link on a desktop. This allows you to reach more people with one campaign, and Google can optimise better because it has more data to learn from. More data means better system choices, and better choices mean more calls for less money.

In practice, many advertisers see similar or even better results after switching than with their old Call-Only campaigns. The reason is that RSA with call extensions is more flexible and better suited to how people search nowadays. Someone on mobile who is in a hurry will call; someone on desktop who is calmly researching will click through to the website. With one campaign, you can serve both groups simultaneously, without extra budget.

What you need for the transition is a good landing page for people who click through, a clear phone number, and a willingness to rewrite your ad copy in the RSA format. With RSA, you provide multiple headlines and descriptions from which Google compiles the best combinations. That’s a bit more work than writing a single fixed ad copy, but it also yields significantly better results. Think of it as investing in an advert that keeps improving itself. If you’d like help with the Outsourcing Google Ads, that could also be an option.

What you need to do now, step by step

The first step is insight. Open Google Ads, go to the Campaigns overview and filter by campaign type. See how many call campaigns you are running and how much you are spending on them per month. Also, look at how many calls they are generating. This will give you an idea of the urgency and what you stand to lose if you do nothing.

The second step is a plan. For each call campaign, determine what the replacement will be. For most companies, this will be an RSA campaign targeting the same keywords, supplemented with a call asset. Ensure the phone number in your Google Ads account is set up as a sitelink and as a call extension. This way, it can appear next to your ad text. If you work with an agency, send them this article and ask for a concrete migration plan for your campaigns by the end of 2026.

The third step is testing. Set up the new RSA campaigns alongside your existing call campaigns. Run them side-by-side for a few weeks so you can compare. Pay attention to the number of calls, the cost per call, and the quality of the conversations. Once the RSA campaigns show comparable or better results, you can gradually phase out the call campaigns and shift the budgets.

The fourth step is optimising. RSA ads get better as they gather more data. Google tests your headlines and descriptions, learning which combinations work best. Give campaigns time to learn, at least four to six weeks before drawing conclusions. Adjust based on data, and keep monitoring. The system works for you, but it needs good material to run on. If you also want to understand how AI Max campaigns and DSA This fits in, it's a logical next step.

If you don't want to go through this process yourself, then it might be wise to SEA specialist to enable one that manages the migration for you. Not to simply transfer it, but to create a plan together that aligns with your business, your budget, and your type of customers. Someone who works in Google Ads daily sees opportunities that you might miss, and prevents your budget from being lost during a transition period that lasts too long.

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