Today is the effective date for a Google Ads call recording change announced earlier in 2026. Any account that left the “Call recording” setting blank now has it set to “Yes” by default. Google sent reminder emails in the lead-up, but advertisers who ignored them woke up to recording switched on.
As Search Engine Roundtable reported, Google’s email told advertisers that leaving the setting empty past June 30 would be treated as consent to switch it to “Yes” under the Call ads Supplemental Terms. Accounts can still disable recording at any time in account settings.
The company cited an AI call quality feature rolling out from May 2026 as the reason to keep recording on. Instead of relying solely on call duration to gauge lead quality, Google AI now evaluates call content to identify higher-value prospects and inform bid optimization.
Healthcare and financial services accounts are exempt from the auto-enablement. All others should verify their call recording preference today. If recording is unwanted, navigate to the Call ads settings in Google Ads and set the option to “No.”
Reported by Barry Schwartz at Search Engine Roundtable, covering the July 1, 2026 auto-enablement of Google Ads call recording for accounts that made no prior selection.
