Short answer: Since October 1, 2026, Google charges you for a missed Local Services Ads (LSA) call if it comes in during your business hours and the caller stays on the line for more than 20 seconds. A call that goes to voicemail or an automated greeting during business hours is treated as connected and charged the same way, whether or not the caller leaves a message. You pay once per caller, and follow-up calls from the same number within 15 days are not charged again. The fix is to answer every LSA call within seconds, with your full business name, so you pay for a conversation instead of a ring-out.
| What Google does since Oct 1, 2026 | |
|---|---|
| Missed call in business hours, caller waits more than 20 seconds | Charged as a lead |
| Call reaches voicemail or an automated greeting in business hours, caller stays more than 20 seconds | Charged as a lead, message or not |
| Missed call outside your business hours or ad schedule | Not charged |
| Phone menu (“press 1”) | The 20-second timer starts when the caller presses a key; no key press, no charge |
| Follow-up calls from the same number within 15 days | Not charged again |
| Spam, duplicate or poor-quality leads | Reassessed for 30 days; credits are applied automatically |
Source: Google’s How leads work help page, and Search Engine Roundtable’s report on Google’s advertiser email announcing the change.
What changed on October 1, 2026, and who it hits
Before October, a Local Services Ads call you didn’t pick up usually cost nothing. Google’s email to advertisers said: “On October 01, 2026, we are updating how and when you are charged for call leads originating from Local Services Ads.” Google’s help page now lists, as a valid lead, the case where “you missed a phone call during your business hours and the customer stays on the line for more than 20 seconds.”
That hits the businesses that buy most LSA leads and miss the most calls because they’re on a job: pest control, roofers, plumbers, HVAC technicians, electricians, locksmiths, garage door repair and cleaning services. The person who answers the phone is often the person on the roof, under the sink or in the crawl space.
Owners already feel it. Will Dorvall of Kilter Termite and Pest Control told us his LSA “lead flow fell off a cliff. Actually, it dropped by about a third.” His view of the platform: “Everything on Google is based on how quickly you answer the phone, how quickly you respond to their texts.”
How the missed-call charge works
Four details decide whether a missed call costs you money.
The 20-second rule
A missed call during business hours becomes a charged lead once the caller has been on the line for more than 20 seconds. Google says “the 20-second ring rule applies only to unanswered (missed) calls.” An answered call is judged on the conversation, not on ring time.
Voicemail counts as a connected call
This is the part that hurts most. Google says: “If a call goes to voicemail or an automated greeting during your business hours, it’s treated as a connected call and is charged if the caller stays on the line for more than 20 seconds, whether or not they leave a message.” A 15-second greeting plus a short message is enough. You pay for the lead, and the caller often dials the next company on the list.
Business hours and ad schedule
“Business hours” means the hours in your Google Business Profile. If your ad schedule is different, Google says unanswered calls “are only charged when they happen during your active ad schedule and within your business hours.” Missed calls at night and on weekends outside those hours are not charged.
Phone menus and repeat callers
If callers must press a key to be routed, the 20-second timer starts when they press it, and “you won’t be charged if customers don’t press a key to get routed.” Extra menu levels don’t reset the timer. Once a lead is charged, follow-up calls or messages from the same phone number or email aren’t charged again as long as there’s contact within 15 days. After 15 quiet days, a new call is a new lead.
Can you dispute a missed-call charge?
Google reassesses charged leads over 30 days and credits ones it finds “poor quality, duplicate, or invalid” automatically. You can also report a lead through the feedback survey on that lead, and Google says it “may also occasionally credit” leads reported as poor quality. A real customer who called while you were busy is a valid lead under the new rule, so don’t count on credits for missed calls. Lead credits aren’t available for health care, tax specialists, or advertisers in EMEA.
What it costs you
The cost is simple: your lead price times the calls you miss during business hours.
Michael Ryan of Roofology Roofing put roofing lead prices this way: “If you’re paying $400 to $800 per lead. You need to sell one out of four minimum.” At $400 a lead, three business-hours calls a week that ring out or hit voicemail cost $1,200 a week, about $5,200 a month, for leads you never spoke to. Use your own lead price and your own missed-call count from your LSA dashboard.
The calls you miss after hours aren’t charged, but they still cost you jobs. Across 31,982 lead calls Marlie answered between December 2025 and October 2026:
- 32% of lead calls came on weekends or before 8 am or after 6 pm.
- At businesses with set hours, 1 in 5 leads came after hours (4,226 of 21,719, Jan–Oct 2026).
- After-hours callers are leads as often as daytime callers. At the same business, the median lead rate was 30% in hours and 30% after hours (72 businesses).
- 25% of bookings came from after-hours calls at businesses with set hours (435 of 1,730).
So the new rule puts a price on the daytime misses, and the night and weekend misses were already lost revenue. Both are fixed the same way. More on that in our guide to after-hours answering.
Fix 1: forward LSA calls instantly, with no ring-out
The charge depends on the caller waiting more than 20 seconds without a person on the line. If your phone rings for 20 seconds before forwarding, you’ve already paid for the lead by the time anyone answers.
Two setups work:
- Instant forwarding. All calls go straight to your answering service or AI receptionist, and your own phone doesn’t ring. Preston of Pine State Group set Marlie up this way: “I have it turned off not to ring my phone because I want it to ring Marlie immediately.”
- A short ring-first window. Your cell rings for a few seconds, then forwards on no answer. Keep the delay well under 20 seconds. Marlie customers who ring first forward after 10 to 15 seconds. Kent of Express Notary Toronto uses 10 (“any time you don’t answer a call after 10 seconds, it’ll kick in”), and Aaron of West Shore Mechanical uses 15.
Most carriers set this with a short code. Our guide to forwarding cell phone calls has the steps for each US carrier, including how to set the no-answer delay.
Don’t add a “press 1” menu just to dodge the charge. Google won’t charge a call where nobody presses a key, but a caller who hangs up on a menu is a lead you paid Google to send and then turned away.
Fix 2: answer with your full business name
Say your full business name in the first line of the greeting, every time. Will at Kilter put it bluntly: “Google has to hear our full name, Kilter Termite and Pest Control.” It also tells the caller they reached the company they picked from the ad, not a call center, which keeps them on the line long enough to book.
Then do the job on the first call:
- Ask your qualifying questions (service area, job type, urgency).
- Book the job into your calendar or CRM while the caller is still on the line.
- Text the caller a confirmation and send you a summary.
That turns a charged lead into a booked job instead of a voicemail you return an hour later. Across April 24 to October 31, 2026, Marlie’s AI receptionist booked 1,965 jobs at 44 businesses this way.
How Marlie handles LSA calls
Marlie answers every call from your Local Services Ads, Google Ads and directory listings on the first ring, day and night, with your full business name in the greeting. It asks your qualifying questions, routes urgent calls by reason (a burst pipe to plumbing, a broken AC to the HVAC team), books into your calendar or CRM, and sends you a summary of every lead. When it checks something during a call, it tells the caller it’s looking it up, so there’s no dead air. For a side-by-side look at services that do this, see our ranking of the best answering services for Google Local Services Ads.
Honest limits: what an answering service can’t change
An answering service fixes the ring-out. It doesn’t change how Google bills you.
- Answered calls are still leads. If the caller is a real customer, you pay for the lead whether a person, an AI or your voicemail picks up. The goal is to get a booked job for that money, not to avoid the charge.
- It can’t lower your lead price. Your cost per lead is set by your category, market and budget.
- It can’t win a dispute for you. A real customer who waited on the line is a valid lead. Credits are for spam, duplicates and poor quality, and Google decides them.
- Your business hours still matter. Missed calls are charged only within your Business Profile hours and ad schedule. Set those hours to when you actually want calls, not to game the rule, because they also control when your ads run.
- Ranking isn’t guaranteed. Google doesn’t spell out response speed as a ranking factor in its billing rules. Many owners, like Will, believe fast answers help. Our guide on improving your Local Services Ads ranking covers the factors Google does name.
FAQ
Does Google charge for missed Local Services Ads calls?
Yes, since October 1, 2026. A missed LSA call during your business hours is charged as a lead if the caller stays on the line for more than 20 seconds. Missed calls outside your business hours or ad schedule are not charged.
Does Google charge for LSA calls that go to voicemail?
Yes, during business hours. Google treats a call that reaches voicemail or an automated greeting as a connected call and charges it if the caller stays on the line for more than 20 seconds, whether or not they leave a message.
How long does a caller have to wait before a missed LSA call is charged?
More than 20 seconds. If your phone system uses a “press a key” menu, the 20 seconds start when the caller presses the key.
Am I charged again if the same customer calls back?
No, as long as there’s contact within 15 days and the call comes from the same phone number or email. After 15 days with no activity, a new call from that customer counts as a new lead.
Can I get a credit for a missed LSA call?
Only if Google decides the lead was spam, a duplicate or poor quality. Google reassesses charged leads for 30 days and applies credits automatically, and you can report a lead through its feedback survey. A real customer who waited on the line is a valid lead.
How do I stop paying for missed LSA calls?
Answer every call within a few seconds. Forward LSA calls straight to an answering service or AI receptionist, or ring your own phone for no more than 10 to 15 seconds before forwarding. Avoid long voicemail greetings during business hours.
Will an answering service stop Google charging me for LSA leads?
No. Answered calls from real customers are still charged leads. What changes is what you get for the money: a booked job, a qualified lead or an urgent call sent to the right person, instead of a voicemail.
