Last updated October 22, 2026. Policy checked against Google's help pages on October 22, 2026.
Yes. Since October 1, 2026, Google can charge you a Local Services Ads (the "Google Guaranteed" ads at the top of search) lead for a call nobody answered, if it comes in during your business hours and your ad schedule and the caller stays on the line for more than 20 seconds. A call that goes to voicemail counts too.
Missed calls used to cost you the job. Now they can also cost you the lead fee.
What's below: which calls count, the free fixes first, how credits work, and when paying for answering help makes sense.
What Google changed on October 1, 2026
Google emailed advertisers a notice titled "Upcoming changes to lead charge policy", with changes starting October 1, 2026 (Search Engine Land, PPC Land).
Google's help page now lists this as a valid lead: "You missed a phone call during your business hours and the customer stays on the line for more than 20 seconds." (How leads work)
If a first call didn't count as a charged lead, a later call can. "Any follow-up call (when the customer calls you back) is evaluated using the rules for an answered call. You're charged once on the first call that qualifies as a valid lead..." (How leads work)
Google said it's adding safeguards against robot and spam calls but hasn't explained how they work (Search Engine Land).
Google's pages don't say what a missed-call lead costs, or whether it's priced the same as an answered one.
Which calls count and which don't
| What happened | Charged? |
|---|---|
| You answer, even after 20+ seconds of ringing | Not because of ring time. Google judges it as an answered call, based on the conversation ("The 20-second ring rule applies only to unanswered (missed) calls.") |
| Missed, and the caller hangs up within 20 seconds | Not under the missed-call rule. A callback is judged like an answered call. |
| Missed during business hours and your active ad schedule, caller on the line more than 20 seconds | Can be charged |
| Goes to voicemail or a greeting during business hours, caller on more than 20 seconds | Can be charged, "whether or not they leave a message". Google treats it "as a connected call." |
| Phone menu, the caller hangs up without pressing a key | Not charged, "even if the menu played for more than 20 seconds" |
| Phone menu, the caller presses a key, then more than 20 seconds pass | Can be charged. Pressing more keys doesn't restart the timer. |
| Outside your business hours or outside your ad schedule | Not under the missed-call rule ("unanswered calls are only charged when they happen during your active ad schedule and within your business hours") |
| Same customer again within 15 days of a charged lead, same number or email | Not charged again. After 15 days with no activity, it can be a new lead. |
A text, email, booking request, or "a voicemail from the customer" through your ad also counts as a lead (How leads work).
Source: Google, "How leads work".
What 'business hours' means to Google
"'Business hours' are the hours you set in your Google Business Profile, which you can update at any time." (How leads work)
Your Local Services Ads account also has a Business hours card under Profile & Budget (Edit your business hours), and the "Only during my business hours" ad schedule uses it (About ad scheduling). Check both places, and set them to the hours someone actually answers.
First, check whether it's costing you
On the Leads page, each lead shows a Charge Status: "Charged," "Not charged," "In review," or "Credited." (How leads work)
For one week, compare charged leads with your phone's missed-call log.
How to stop paying for calls you miss (cheapest fixes first)
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Only advertise the hours you can answer. Open the menu, then Profile & Budget, then the blue text next to "Ad schedule". Choose "All day", "Only during my business hours", or "Custom hours", then Save. "All day" is the default. Google suggests running ads "when you can respond to customer calls in a timely manner." (About ad scheduling)
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Fix your business hours in your Google Business Profile and on the Business hours card (Profile & Budget, then the pencil icon). You can also mark the business "temporarily closed." (Edit your business hours, Edit your ad or business information)
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Pause the ad when nobody can answer. Paused ads stop showing, and "a free version of your listing may be displayed." (About ad scheduling) Turning off job types doesn't stop leads: "You must pause your ad to stop receiving all leads." (Edit your ad or business information) Pause or edit from the Local Services Ads inbox, not the main Google Ads screen. (How leads work)
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Get the call to a person within 20 seconds. Ring a second phone or the office at the same time, or forward fast. Voicemail does not save you, because Google counts it as connected.
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A short phone menu ('press 1 for service') is an option, with a trade-off. Google doesn't charge callers who never press a key (How leads work), but every extra step can lose real customers, and the timer runs once they press.
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Use a human answering service for overflow or after hours, if the monthly cost makes sense for your call volume.
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Call back fast. Once a lead is charged, follow-up with that customer within 15 days from the same number or email isn't charged again (How leads work). You've paid for that lead, so work it.
If your account has moved into Google Ads
Google is moving Local Services Ads into Google Ads as "Performance Max campaigns with pay-per-lead goals". The first wave started August 2026 for some US home-service businesses (plumbing, HVAC, electrical, house cleaning, lawn care, roofing, pest control, and others), with more in late 2026 and 2027. (Local Services Ads transition to Performance Max campaigns with pay-per-lead goals)
In those accounts, the ad schedule "defaults to run 'All the time'". You can set days and hours or "sync your ad schedule to your opening hours." (About targeting for pay-per-lead goals for Performance Max) Check it right after the move.
If you think a charge is wrong
Google checks leads when the customer first contacts you, doesn't charge ones it finds invalid or low quality, and keeps rechecking charged leads, which "may be issued credits automatically." (How leads work, About Automated Local Services Ads lead credits)
Credits usually arrive "within 30 days", and "the original lead charge will still appear on your invoice." (About Automated Local Services Ads lead credits)
Leave feedback from the menu, then Leads, then "Rate this lead." (About Automated Local Services Ads lead credits) Google "may also occasionally credit leads you report as poor quality through this survey." (How leads work) A credit isn't guaranteed.
Google "no longer supports credits for 'job type not serviced' and 'geo not serviced' leads." (About Automated Local Services Ads lead credits)
Google's pages don't describe a special dispute process for missed-call charges. The automatic-credit page is the current process.
Where answering help, text-back, and AI fit (and where they don't)
Answering doesn't make the charge go away. An answered call is judged as a lead and can be charged if it's a real customer. The goal is to stop paying for calls you lose, not to stop paying for leads.
Missed-call text-back (a text sent to someone you missed) happens after the call, so it doesn't undo a charge. It can save the job you already paid for. Business texting from a regular 10-digit number must be registered with the carriers ("A2P 10DLC") (Programmable Messaging and A2P 10DLC), and customers should agree to get texts.
Cheaper off-the-shelf options exist: text-back apps, AI receptionist apps, and receptionist features in field-service software. For many shops, fixed hours plus one of these is enough.
A custom agent makes sense when, after the free fixes, you still get many calls you can't answer and want answering and follow-up to fit how your shop works.
Hardihood can build a mix, fitted to the shop: an agent that answers calls by voice and asks the right questions for the trade (emergency or routine, what's wrong, where), texts back callers it missed, and follows up on quotes that go quiet after the call.
An answered call can still be charged as a lead. The point is to win the jobs you already pay for.
We'll look at how your calls come in on the free call.
How Hardihood helps
Fixed-price Agent Sprints: $1,500, $2,500, or $4,000, delivered in 5-12 business days. Read what an AI agent costs.
You own the agent. Need help later? We're here. But we build agents to run on their own, so most owners never need ongoing support.
Agents can connect to tools like QuickBooks, Shopify, Square, Google Workspace, and HubSpot.
Based in Alpharetta, GA. We work with businesses anywhere.
If a cheaper fix will do, we'll tell you.
See done-for-you AI automation for small businesses.
The missed-call text goes out on its own, because it only says you saw the call and will get back to them. Anything that commits you, like a price, a booking, or a quote, waits for a person to approve it.
Frequently asked questions
Not sure if you need more than the free fixes? Tell us how your calls come in. The first call is free.
Sources
Checked October 22, 2026.
- G1 Google - How leads work
- G2 Google - About Automated Local Services Ads lead credits
- G3 Google - About ad scheduling
- G4 Google - Edit your business hours
- G5 Google - Edit your ad or business information
- G6 Google Ads - Local Services Ads transition to Performance Max campaigns with pay-per-lead goals
- G7 Google Ads - About targeting for pay-per-lead goals for Performance Max
- S1 Search Engine Land - Google Local Services Ads will charge for some missed calls starting Oct. 1
- S2 PPC Land - Google charges Local Services advertisers for missed calls over 20 seconds
- T1 Twilio - Programmable Messaging and A2P 10DLC