What Are VFSAs? Google's New Vehicle Feed Search Ads Explained

VFSAs (Vehicle Feed Search Ads) are Google's newest ad format that combines your vehicle inventory from VLAs with traditional search ads. Think of it like a sandwich: your search ad headlines and description are the top bun, your vehicle listings are the middle (the "juicy patty"), and your ad extensions are the bottom bun. They show up primarily on dealer-related searches like "Audi SUV dealers near me" rather than specific model searches.

How VFSAs Combine VLAs and Search Ads

For years, auto dealers have been running two separate ad formats:

Vehicle Listing Ads (VLAs): They show your inventory with images, pricing, and vehicle details. Great for high-intent model searches like "new Ford F-150 for sale."

Search Ads: Search ads are traditional text ads with headlines, descriptions, and extensions. Good for brand and dealer searches.

The problem is that these ran separately. You couldn't combine your inventory showcase with your branded messaging in a single ad.

VFSAs address this by allowing you to show both in a single placement—your branded search ad with your actual vehicle inventory displayed directly within it.

How VFSAs Work

When someone searches "Audi SUV dealers near me," a VFSA shows three things stacked together:

At the top, your dealership headline and description appear—your branded messaging.

In the middle, your actual vehicle inventory shows up. You'll see 3-4 of your listings with photos, pricing, year/make/model, and condition.

At the bottom, your sitelinks and other extensions appear, just like they would in a regular search ad.

It's more real estate, more visual, and combines your brand messaging with your inventory in one placement.

VFSAs vs VLAs: What's the Difference?

Feature	VLAs	VFSAs
Format	Vehicle inventory only	Search ad + inventory + extensions
Triggers on	Model searches ("new Honda CRV")	Dealer searches ("Honda dealer near me")
Includes branding	No headlines/extensions	Yes - full search ad messaging
Runs in	Performance Max campaigns	Search campaigns

The easiest way to remember the difference is that VFSAs are VLAs that show up in search ads, not search ads that show up in VLAs.

​​When VFSAs Show Up (And When They Don't)

VFSAs trigger primarily on dealer-related searches, not model searches.

If someone searches "Audi SUV dealers near me," "Honda dealership Dallas," or "Toyota dealer near me," VFSAs may appear. These are searches where someone is looking for a dealership, not a specific vehicle yet.

But if they search "new Ford F-150 for sale,"  "2025 Audi Q5 price," or "Honda CRV lease deals," you'll see regular VLAs instead. Those are model-specific searches, and Google serves the standard vehicle listing format for those.

The difference matters because it changes where your inventory appears and what kind of search intent you're capturing.

Requirements to Run VFSAs

To get VFSAs enabled, you need a few things in place.

First, you need an active Merchant Center vehicle feed with live inventory. If you're already running VLAs, you have this.

Second, you need a Performance Max campaign with vehicle feed already running. Again, standard if you're doing VLAs.

Third, you need search campaigns targeting dealer and brand keywords. This is where VFSAs actually show up.

Fourth, you need advertiser-provided assets or automatically enabled assets in your campaigns.

The catch is you also need beta access from Google's vehicle ads team. As of January 2025, you can't flip a switch in your Google Ads account to enable this. Even if you have everything else set up correctly, VFSAs won't show until Google's team activates it on their end.

How to Track VFSA Performance

Once VFSAs are enabled, the data appears in your Google Ads account within a specific segment.

Here's how to find it: 

1. Go to your Campaigns overview

2. Click “Segment” 

3. Select “Click type” 

4. Look for “Vehicle assets” in the results

This shows you impressions, clicks, and conversions specifically from VFSA placements within your search campaigns. It breaks out the VFSA traffic from your regular search ad traffic so you can see exactly how the format is performing.

What Early VFSA Performance Looks Like

VFSAs typically account for a small percentage of your overall search campaign traffic at first.

In one of our dealer accounts during the first few weeks after enablement, a search campaign spent $487 total, with $12 of that (44 impressions and 1 click) coming from vehicle assets. That's about 2.5% of the campaign spend.

The volume is low because VFSAs only trigger on dealer-related searches, which are less frequent than model-specific searches. But the intent is often higher—someone searching "dealer near me" is usually further along in the buying journey than someone just browsing models.

How to Get VFSAs Enabled

VFSAs still require beta access, so you can't enable them yourself.

First, confirm you meet the requirements—Merchant Center feed, active VLAs, search campaigns targeting dealer keywords, and assets enabled. If you're already running VLAs, you probably have all of this.

Then you need to contact Google's specialized vehicle ads support team (not your regular Google rep), but a specific team that handles vehicle ad products.

Once you request enablement, Google's team will opt you in on the backend and activate it for your account.

Trying to configure campaigns and spend money hoping VFSAs show up won’t work. We tested that approach and spent thousands of dollars without VFSAs ever appearing. 

What to Do Next

If you're already running VLAs and want VFSAs enabled, start by verifying your setup. Confirm you have an active Merchant Center vehicle feed and Performance Max campaigns running. Check that your search campaigns are targeting dealer and brand keywords like "[your brand] dealer near me."

Then reach out to your Google Ads rep and ask about VFSA beta access. If they're not familiar with it, ask them to connect you with Google's vehicle ads support team.

Once you're enabled, set up tracking by segmenting your search campaigns by click type. This lets you monitor vehicle asset performance separately from your regular search ad traffic.

VFSAs are still rolling out, but  we have seen it capture high-intent dealer searches with combined brand and inventory messaging. If you're already investing in VLAs, this is a great extension to test.