Google Ads: The February 2027 Switch

In February 2027, two Google Ads formats that many Monaco businesses still rely on reach the end of the road. Call-only ads, which put a "Call" button in place of a website link, stop serving. Dynamic Search Ads (DSA), which write headlines automatically from your website content, are migrated automatically into Google's AI-driven Search campaigns.

Neither change requires a contract or a signature. If you do nothing, Google makes the switch for you, using its default settings. For a restaurant, a yacht charter broker or a private clinic in Monaco that gets most of its leads by phone, those defaults may not match how the business actually works. You have roughly three months to set things up the way you want.

What Google has confirmed

Google's own Ads API documentation states that creating new call-only ads has been blocked since January 2026, and that existing call-only ads will stop serving in February 2027. Google's recommended replacement is a Responsive Search Ad (RSA) with a call asset attached.

For Dynamic Search Ads, Google originally planned the automatic upgrade for September 2026, then pushed it back after advertiser feedback. In June 2026 it announced that DSA campaigns still active in February 2027 will be migrated automatically. In practice the migration creates new Responsive Search Ads, sends them for policy review, and switches the DSA ads to view-only once the replacements are approved. Industry coverage reports that creating new DSA campaigns ends in January 2027. Google has published slightly different dates in different places, so plan on the earlier date rather than the later one.

These are global platform changes. Monaco gets no special treatment, and the timing is the same whether your account is billed in Monaco or in France.

Why call-only ads matter more in Monaco

In a market this small, a phone call is often the conversion that matters. A visitor on a yacht looking for a table tonight, a resident searching for an emergency dentist, or a buyer who wants to speak to an estate agent in their own language will usually pick up the phone rather than fill in a form. Call-only ads were built for exactly that: on mobile, one tap started the call.

The replacement works differently. An RSA with a call asset shows your headline and website link, with your phone number displayed next to them. Some people will call, and others will tap through to the site. That is not necessarily worse, but it changes three things you should check:

• Landing page quality now affects phone leads. Visitors who would have called directly may land on your site first. If the mobile page is slow, or shows the wrong language, you lose them. This is where solid landing page design pays for itself.
• Call tracking must be set up again. Make sure calls from the call asset are recorded as conversions, with a sensible minimum call duration, so smart bidding optimises for real enquiries and not misdials.
• Opening hours matter. Call assets can be scheduled. A Monaco restaurant should not be paying for calls at 3 a.m. that nobody answers.

What AI Max actually changes

The campaigns that replace DSA run on what Google calls AI Max for Search. Its main features (search-term matching, text customisation and final-URL expansion) are switched on by default. In plain terms, Google decides more of three things on your behalf: which searches trigger your ads, what the ad text says, and which page of your site people land on.

For a Monaco business, final-URL expansion deserves the most attention. Many sites here are multilingual and carry pages that should never be an ad landing page: careers, legal notices, an old event, a property already sold. If the system sends an Italian-speaking searcher to a French page, or a luxury lead to a "sold" listing, you pay for the click and lose the client. AI Max offers controls such as URL exclusions and brand settings. Use them before the migration, not after.

Text customisation brings its own risk. Regulated sectors such as private wealth, healthcare and real estate should review the generated ad copy carefully. Automation does not shift responsibility: if an ad makes a claim your sector does not allow, the problem is yours, not Google's.

A practical checklist before February

1. List your call-only ads and DSA campaigns. Many accounts set up years ago still run them quietly in the background.
2. Rebuild call-only ads as RSAs with call assets now, while the old ads are still running. That way you can compare call volume and cost per lead over the same weeks.
3. Use Google's voluntary DSA upgrade in the campaign settings, or test AI Max against your existing campaign with an experiment, so you control the switch.
4. Set URL exclusions for pages that should never receive paid traffic, and check that each language version of your site is a correct destination.
5. Check conversion tracking for calls, forms and bookings, so the AI optimises towards real business and not cheap clicks.
6. Export historical reports before any change, so you can compare before and after.

If your account is managed by an agency, ask them now which of these items they have already handled. A well-run account should be able to answer in one email.

The bigger picture

These changes fit a clear pattern. Google is phasing out formats where advertisers made the decisions manually, and moving them into campaigns where its AI makes more of the choices. Small Monaco advertisers cannot opt out of that direction. What they can do is give the system better inputs: clean conversion data, precise exclusions, strong landing pages and a clear brand voice.

Businesses that prepare will probably see little disruption, and may gain reach. Those that let the automatic migration run unchecked risk paying for traffic they would never have chosen. If you also advertise on Google Maps or in local results, it is worth reviewing your wider Google Ads management and SEO together, because paid and organic visibility increasingly overlap.

Need help before the deadline?

BSS audits Google Ads accounts for Monaco businesses, rebuilds call campaigns and sets up AI Max with the right guardrails, in English, French, Italian and German. If you would like your account checked before Google switches it for you, get in touch.