Calls or forms: getting phone calls from Google Ads

Take both calls and forms, and judge each by how many turn into quotes and sales. Calls now come from call assets on your Search ads and from the phone number on your landing page, because Google is retiring call ads. Track both kinds of call with Google forwarding numbers, and staff the phone during the hours your number shows.

Key facts

• Google removed the option to create new call ads in February 2026, and existing call ads stop showing in February 2027 (About call ads).
• A tap on a call asset costs the same as a click on the ad's headline (About call assets).
• Call reporting shows the caller's phone number for calls over 15 seconds (About call reporting).
• Google keeps call recording off by default for businesses it identifies as financial services (call recording settings).

How do you get phone calls from Google Ads now?

Add a call asset to your Search campaigns. A call asset puts your phone number under the ad. On a phone, it shows as a call button. On a desktop, a "Call us" button shows the number and a code people can scan with their phone.

Three setup details matter for an insurance office:

1. Schedule the asset. Google lets you show the number only on the days and hours you choose. Match it to the hours someone can answer.
2. Use a normal business number. Google rejects vanity, premium and fax numbers, and checks that the number belongs to your business.
3. Put the number on your site. The exact number must appear in your website's code, or your domain must be verified in Google Search Console.

Call assets don't show with every ad. Google's auction decides when the button appears, so your landing page needs a visible, tappable number too.

What happened to call ads?

Google is retiring them. Call ads showed only on phones, and tapping them dialed your office. Google's help page says new call ads could no longer be created from February 2026, and that existing ones stop receiving impressions in February 2027. Google tells advertisers to move their numbers to call assets on responsive search ads now.

If your account still has call ads, they run until then, but nothing new can be built on them. Plan the move before they stop.

How does Google track calls from your ads?

With Google forwarding numbers. When call reporting is on, Google shows a number it owns in your ad and forwards the call to your office. It records the call's start time, length, area code, campaign and whether it connected. Google doesn't charge for people who dial the number by hand, only for taps, at the normal click price.

Google counts three kinds of call as conversions (phone call conversion tracking):

The first two count a call when it lasts as long as a minimum you set. The third counts only the tap, so it overstates real calls. Our conversion tracking guide shows how to set each one up.

Google says forwarding numbers can change or be reassigned. Don't print one on business cards or use it outside your ads and website tracking.

What are AI-qualified call leads?

They are calls Google's AI judges to be real inquiries after listening to a recording. Google says it looks for signs of intent, such as a caller asking about a service or booking an appointment. With recording on, only calls the AI qualifies count as conversions. When a call can't be recorded, Google falls back to the minimum call length you set (About AI-qualified call leads).

Three limits apply:

• Recording works only when both phone numbers are in the US or Canada.
• Calls are tracked through Google forwarding numbers, which need call reporting turned on.
• For businesses identified as financial services, recording starts off and stays off until you turn it on and accept Google's terms.

Who is responsible for consent on recorded calls?

You are, as the advertiser. Google's Call Ads Supplemental Terms say you must notify your agents, employees and anyone else on the calls that they may be recorded. You must also get their express consent. The same terms require you to comply with the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA) and other laws that apply.

Callers hear a short automated message at the start of each recorded call. That message does not cover your staff or any state law that asks for more. Check your state's call recording law before you turn recording on.

Read the terms before you switch recording on: turning it on means you confirm you have notified everyone who may take part in the calls and have their consent (Call Ads Supplemental Terms).

Should you want calls or forms?

You should want whichever one your office follows up best. No published study gives a reliable close rate for insurance calls versus forms, so compare your own records. Each has trade-offs:

For a two- or three-person office, missed calls are the larger leak. On one small-business phone platform, only 15% of callers left a voicemail after a missed call, in a sample of over 18 million missed calls from July to September 2026 (Quo). That is one vendor's data, not an insurance study. A form waits for you, but the shopper is filling in other agencies' forms meanwhile, which is why speed to lead matters.

What happens when nobody can answer?

Send an automatic text to the missed caller. It confirms you saw the call and offers a time to call back, so the inquiry you paid for doesn't disappear. Our guide to missed-call text back covers how it works and the consent rules for texting.

Our Google Ads management sets up call assets, forwarding numbers and call conversions with your campaigns, for 10% of total monthly ad spend. Quotes and policies inside a carrier's system can't always be tracked, so keep your own log of which calls you quoted and sold.

To work through call and form tracking for your office, book a Google Ads strategy call.