Responsive Search Ads with AI: Draft 15 Headlines, Then Check Every Line
The short answer
Responsive search ads take up to 15 headlines and 4 descriptions, and an AI model can draft all of them in a minute. The slow part is the check: every headline must fit in 30 characters and every description in 90, and Google’s editorial rules catch capitals, repeated punctuation, emoji and phone numbers. Draft with AI, run every line through a free Google Sheets checker, then paste the clean set into Google Ads Editor.
On this page
What responsive search ads need
Responsive search ads are Google’s standard text ads for Search campaigns. You write the parts and Google combines them for each search. Google’s help on responsive search ads sets the limits:
- Headlines: up to 15, at least 3, each up to 30 characters.
- Descriptions: up to 4, at least 2, each up to 90 characters.
- Display paths: two, each up to 15 characters.
- Double-width languages: every Korean, Japanese or Chinese character counts as 2.
Google also recommends at least two responsive search ads per ad group, each with Good or Excellent Ad Strength and its own final URL. Because any headline can appear next to any other, each one has to make sense on its own. Our weekly Google Ads checklist includes a quick look for ad groups that still have only one.
Why AI drafts need a check
AI models are good at angles and bad at counting. They read text in chunks rather than letter by letter, so a headline the model calls 28 characters can easily be 33. Three other things slip through:
- Google’s editorial rules. Its editorial policy disapproves gimmicky capitals, repeated punctuation, emoji, extra spaces and phone numbers in ad text.
- Your own rules. Words your legal team bans, competitor names, claims you can’t prove.
- Repeats. Fifteen slots fill up fast with near-copies of the same idea, and duplicates waste them.
A sheet catches all of that in seconds and never gets tired. If AI Max text customization is switched on, Google writes extra lines from your site that this check never sees; our guide to AI for Google Ads covers when to keep it off.
Step 1: draft with one prompt
Paste this into Claude, ChatGPT or Gemini, fill in the brackets, and add the main text of your landing page. Giving the model the page, rather than a product name, keeps it to facts you can stand behind.
Write Google Ads responsive search ad text for this page. Landing page text: [paste the page's main text here] Main keyword: [keyword] Brand name: [brand] Never say: [words your legal or brand team bans] Give me exactly this, one item per line, no numbering: 15 headlines, each 30 characters or fewer, spaces included 4 descriptions, each 90 characters or fewer 2 display paths, each 15 characters or fewer Rules: - Use only facts that appear in the page text. - Every headline must make sense on its own, in any order. - Give each headline a different angle: the keyword, a benefit, a specific number, proof, the price or offer, an objection answered, a question, the brand. - No words in capital letters, no emoji, no phone numbers, no repeated punctuation such as "!!". - Don't repeat a headline or start two the same way.
Asking for a different angle per headline matters more than any single headline. Responsive search ads work by testing combinations, and fifteen versions of “best price” give Google nothing to test. A specific number, a line of proof or an answered objection each earn their slot.
Three habits make the first draft better:
- Give the model the whole page, not your summary of it. Summaries drop the specific facts, prices and numbers that make the strongest headlines.
- Ask for 20 headlines and keep the best 15. Choosing between lines is faster than rewriting weak ones.
- Tell the model which angle your competitors already use, such as price, and ask for headlines that say something different. Our guide to the Google Ads Transparency Center shows how to find those angles with a monthly competitor digest.
Writing ads every week? Save the prompt as a reusable skill. Our AI for Google Ads guide has a ready-made responsive search ad writer you can copy.
Step 2: check every line in a sheet
Create a Google Sheet with two tabs. Name the first RSA and give it these headers in row 1: Type, Text, Length, Limit, Problems. In column A, type Headline in rows 2 to 16, Description in rows 17 to 20 and Path in rows 21 and 22. Name the second tab Banned and list one banned word per row in column A, starting at row 2.
Paste the model’s lines into column B, then put these formulas in row 2 and copy C2:E2 down to row 22:
C2 (length):
=IF(B2="","",LEN(B2))
D2 (limit):
=IF(B2="","",IFS(A2="Headline",30,A2="Description",90,A2="Path",15))
E2 (problems):
=IF(B2="","",LET(p,TEXTJOIN(", ",TRUE,IF(LEN(B2)>D2,"too long by "&(LEN(B2)-D2),""),IF(AND(COUNTA(Banned!A$2:A)>0,REGEXMATCH(LOWER(B2),"\b("&LOWER(TEXTJOIN("|",TRUE,Banned!A$2:A))&")\b")),"banned word",""),IF(REGEXMATCH(B2,"[!?.,]{2,}"),"repeated punctuation",""),IF(REGEXMATCH(B2,"\b[A-Z]{4,}\b"),"check capitals",""),IF(REGEXMATCH(B2,"(\d[ ().-]?){7,}"),"phone number?",""),IF(REGEXMATCH(B2," |^ | $"),"spacing",""),IF(REGEXMATCH(B2,"[\x{1F000}-\x{1FAFF}\x{2600}-\x{27BF}]"),"emoji",""),IF(SUMPRODUCT(--(B$2:B$22=B2))>1,"duplicate","")),IF(p="","OK",p)))
Column E then shows OK or a list of problems for each line:
- too long by N: the line is over its limit by that many characters.
- banned word: a word from your Banned tab, matched whole and in any case.
- repeated punctuation: marks like “!!”, which Google’s punctuation policy gives as an example of what isn’t allowed.
- check capitals: a word of four or more capital letters. Google’s capitalization policy allows common abbreviations like ASAP and some brand names, so this one is a prompt to look, not a verdict.
- phone number? seven or more digits in a row. Phone numbers don’t belong in ad text; add them as a call asset instead.
- spacing: a double space, or a space at the start or end.
- emoji: Google’s punctuation policy lists emoji as unsupported characters.
- duplicate: the same text appears twice in the set.
We tested these formulas in Google Sheets on 24 October 2026 with 21 sample lines covering every flag, and with an empty Banned tab. One detail if you write in Korean, Japanese or Chinese: LEN counts every character as 1, so double the count before comparing it with the limit.
To make problems jump out, select E2:E22, open Format, then Conditional formatting, and add a rule for text that is exactly OK with a green fill, then a second rule for cells that are not empty with an amber fill. Rules apply in order, so every line that isn’t OK turns amber.
A worked example: one bike shop
Here is a full set of responsive search ads text for a fictional bike repair shop in Portland, one headline per angle. The number in brackets is the character count; every line passes the checker.
15 headlines
- Keyword: Bike Repairs in Portland (24)
- Keyword, reworded: Bike Tune-Ups Near Downtown (27)
- Benefit: Back on the Road Same Day (25)
- Specific number: Most Repairs Done in 2 Hours (28)
- Proof: Rated 4.8 by 600 Riders (23)
- Price: Full Tune-Up from $79 (21)
- Offer: Free Safety Check With Any Fix (30)
- Objection answered: No Booking Fee, No Surprises (28)
- Question: Squeaky Brakes? We Fix Them (27)
- Brand: Riverside Cycles Workshop (25)
- Convenience: Book Online in 2 Minutes (24)
- Expertise: Certified Bike Mechanics (24)
- Range: Road, Mountain and E-Bikes (26)
- Risk reversal: 90-Day Repair Warranty (22)
- Location and hours: Open 7 Days, Downtown Shop (26)
4 descriptions and 2 paths
- Same-day repairs for road, mountain and e-bikes. Book online and skip the line. (79)
- Full tune-up from $79, with a free safety check on every repair we do. (70)
- Certified mechanics, a 90-day repair warranty and no booking fee. Open seven days. (82)
- Squeaky brakes, flat tires or slipping gears? Tell us online and we’ll quote first. (83)
- Paths: /Bike-Repairs/Portland (12 and 8)
The model’s first draft is rarely this clean. Three lines it might send back, and what the checker says:
- BEST Bike Repairs in Portland!! → too long by 1, repeated punctuation, check capitals
- Call 503 555 0142 to Book → phone number?
- Fast Fixes 🚲 Every Day → emoji
Notice what the angles do. The proof and the specific number are the lines people tend to believe, the question mirrors what the searcher is thinking, and the objection answers a doubt before it costs you the click. Swap in your own facts, keep the spread.
Step 3: fix, and pin only if you must
Fix flagged lines yourself, or paste them back to the model with the problem, such as “shorten these three to 30 characters, keep the meaning”. Then paste the new versions into the sheet and check again; models often fix one problem and create another.
Pinning fixes a headline or description to one position. Google says anything pinned to headline position 1 or 2, or description position 1, will always show, and that pinning isn’t recommended for most advertisers because it can affect Ad Strength. If you must pin, for a required disclaimer or your brand name, Google suggests pinning two or three different headlines to each position rather than one.
Google Ads Editor has a position column for every headline and description if you pin at upload time.
Step 4: upload with Google Ads Editor
Google Ads Editor is Google’s free desktop app for bulk changes. Add a third tab to the sheet called Editor; it lays the checked lines out in the column names Editor recognizes, from Google’s Editor column list:
Row 1, columns A to X: Campaign | Ad group | Headline 1 ... Headline 15 | Description 1 ... Description 4 | Path 1 | Path 2 | Final URL Row 2: A2: your campaign name, exactly as in Editor B2: your ad group name, exactly as in Editor C2: =TRANSPOSE(RSA!B2:B16) R2: =TRANSPOSE(RSA!B17:B20) V2: =TRANSPOSE(RSA!B21:B22) X2: your final URL
The three TRANSPOSE formulas turn the RSA tab’s column of lines into one row. Copy A1:X2, then in Editor, following Google’s Editor steps:
- Open the account and select the campaign.
- Go to Ads, then Responsive search ads, and choose Make multiple changes.
- Choose Paste from clipboard and tick My data includes columns for campaigns and/or ad groups.
- Select Process, then Finish, and review the proposed changes.
- Post the changes to your account once they look right.
For several ad groups, add more rows to the Editor tab, one responsive search ad per row, each with its own campaign and ad group names.
A second ad for a second page
Google’s advice of at least two responsive search ads per ad group, each with its own final URL, fits this workflow well. Run the prompt again with a second landing page, such as a pricing page or a page for one service, check the new set in a copy of the RSA tab, and add it as a second row in the Editor tab with the same campaign and ad group. Two pages give the model two sets of facts, so the second ad says something genuinely different instead of reshuffling the first.
Keep the prompt and the banned list in one place
The prompt, the Banned tab and the formulas are the part worth reusing. Keep a master copy of the sheet, and note what changed and why whenever you edit the banned list or the prompt. If your team already keeps prompts and scripts together, our guide to GitHub for marketers shows a simple setup with full version history.
Common reasons ads get disapproved
Responsive search ads are reviewed after upload. Most text disapprovals come from Google’s editorial rules, and the checker catches the mechanical ones before review:
- Capitalization: words like FLOWERS, or alternating letters, used for attention.
- Punctuation and symbols: repeated marks, symbols in place of letters (“fl@wers”) and emoji.
- Repetition: repeating words or phrases within the same asset.
- Phone numbers typed into the ad text.
- Spacing: missing spaces, extra spaces or gimmicky spacing.
- Unidentified business: ads that don’t name the product, service or business they promote.
The checker can’t judge the last one, or whether a claim is true. That part stays with you: read every line against your landing page before you post.
The bottom line
Responsive search ads reward variety, and AI is fast at variety. It isn’t careful, so pair it with a check that is: one prompt for the draft, one sheet for the rules, and Google Ads Editor for a reviewed upload. Then watch the search terms your new ads attract; our weekly search-term triage shows how.
Frequently asked questions
How many headlines can responsive search ads have?
Up to 15 headlines and 4 descriptions per ad. You need at least 3 headlines and 2 descriptions, and Google combines them for each search.
How long can a responsive search ad headline be?
30 characters, spaces included. Descriptions can be 90 characters and each display path 15. In Korean, Japanese and Chinese every character counts as 2.
Should I pin headlines in responsive search ads?
Only when you must, for a required disclaimer or your brand. Google says pinning isn’t recommended for most advertisers and can affect Ad Strength; if you pin, pin two or three headlines to the same position.
Can ChatGPT or Claude write responsive search ads?
Yes, and they’re quick at different angles. Check every line yourself or in a sheet: models miscount characters and can add claims your page doesn’t make.
Are exclamation marks allowed in Google Ads?
Repeated marks like “!!” are not. Google’s punctuation policy uses that as its example, and it doesn’t name a single exclamation mark, but punctuation used only to grab attention can still be disapproved.
How do I upload many responsive search ads at once?
Use Google Ads Editor. Lay the ads out one per row with Campaign, Ad group, Headline 1 to 15, Description 1 to 4, Path 1, Path 2 and Final URL columns, then paste them through Make multiple changes.
Do I need Google Ads Editor to upload responsive search ads?
No. You can paste each line into the ad form in Google Ads. Editor saves time when you upload several ads or ad groups at once, and it shows every proposed change before you post.
Does Ad Strength matter for responsive search ads?
Google rates each ad from Poor to Excellent and says advertisers who raised Ad Strength from Poor to Excellent saw 15% more clicks and conversions on average, based on its own data. Treat it as a checklist for variety, not a goal on its own.
Why do my responsive search ads have low Ad Strength?
Usually too few headlines, or headlines that say the same thing. Fill all 15 with distinct angles, use your main keyword in a few, and avoid heavy pinning.
Related guides
- AI for Google Ads — the skills PPC marketers need, plus a reusable responsive search ad writer
- Google Ads Search Terms — a free script and an AI step for a weekly search-term triage
- Google Ads Transparency Center — a monthly competitor ad digest that finds the angles nobody uses
- Google Ads Checklist — a 20-minute weekly routine for spend, search terms, conversions and ads
- PPC Tools for Google Ads — free and paid tools for research, automation and ad testing
- Best AI Marketing Tools for Business — AI tools for writing, meetings and automation
