Google moves Local Services Ads into Google Ads: the Performance Max era
Google is moving Local Services Ads, managed in a standalone dashboard in the US, into Google Ads as a new pay-per-lead Performance Max campaign type. The phased migration begins in August 2026; the first wave is limited to a small group of US advertisers in home services, pet care, wellness and education.
The standalone dashboard closes, LSAs enter Performance Max
Google is moving Local Services Ads out of their standalone dashboard and into the Google Ads platform as a new Performance Max campaign type built for pay-per-lead objectives. The phased rollout begins in August 2026 and continues through 2027, with advertisers notified in advance. The initial early-August launch is limited to a small group of US advertisers in the pet care, home services, wellness and education sectors. The change was reported on July 20, 2026 by Search Engine Land (Anu Adegbola) and Search Engine Journal (Brooke Osmundson).
What changes?
Campaigns remain keywordless and appear only on Search and Maps; they do not expand to Google's other advertising channels. The billing model stays the same: advertisers pay only for valid leads such as calls, messages and bookings. Campaigns are powered by Google Business Profile data, with changes to the profile syncing into the campaign in real time. During migration, existing budgets, settings and creative assets transfer automatically.
The critical caveat: historical performance data does NOT migrate to Google Ads. Google urges advertisers to download their reports before their accounts move; access to the original dashboard ends after migration. Affected accounts get a 14-day advance notice followed by a 7-day reminder. The workflow changes too: weekly budgets become daily budgets, manual bidding is replaced by automatic bidding only, and service-specific Target CPA becomes a single campaign-level Target CPA. The Local Services Ads inbox is replaced by Lead Manager inside Google Ads, and BBB (Better Business Bureau) callouts are deprecated.
Google builds local advertising on automation and the profile
This migration reflects Google's trend of consolidating specialized ad products under the Performance Max umbrella and running local advertising through automation. Removing manual bidding means handing much of the control to Google's algorithm; making the Business Profile the campaign's data spine means profile hygiene will directly affect ad performance. The fact that historical data does not migrate is a concrete risk: years of accumulated performance history disappear if they are not exported. As automation grows, the advertiser's edge comes not from bid tuning but from setup, measurement and lead-quality management.
What it means for businesses in Türkiye
This migration is US-only for now, and Local Services Ads are not offered in Türkiye in the same form. Still, the direction matters for local businesses here: Google is steering local advertising toward an automation-first, Business-Profile-driven, pay-per-lead model. For any business using Google Ads and Google Business Profile, from salons to plumbers to clinics, the implications are clear. First, the Business Profile is no longer just a storefront but the fuel for the campaign, so keeping it complete and current is essential. Second, as manual control shrinks, strategy and measurement setup become more decisive. Third, exporting historical data before any platform migration should be a basic reflex. And for agencies managing US accounts, the 14-day notice is already a call to action.
The UNALSOFT take
Our reading: local advertising increasingly relies on automation and Business Profile data, so the human contribution concentrates in the setup rather than in bid tuning. Building the Business Profile completely, qualifying leads and managing conversions through measurement is the layer that makes the difference. That is exactly what we do in our ad management service: instead of surrendering the campaign to the platform's automation, we build the profile, measurement and lead flow as one system. Platforms change; the right setup keeps paying off.
Automation grows, setup pays off.
Let's talk about your local advertising and Business Profile setup, and clarify which step fits you.