Google is shutting down the Local Services Ads portal and moving the entire program into Google Ads. LSAs themselves aren't going anywhere, but the way they're managed is changing completely. They're moving into Google Ads, running as a pay-per-lead campaign inside Performance Max (PMax).
Today, LSAs live in their own dedicated management environment with their own login, lead inbox, and verification process. That entire interface is being retired, and starting in late 2026, Local Services Ads for home services, franchise, and legal businesses will run as a pay-per-lead campaign type inside Google Ads, built on Performance Max infrastructure. Healthcare isn't part of this migration yet.
If Scorpion manages your LSAs, none of this changes how your account runs. We've been building toward this transition with Google's product and engineering teams for the past eight months, giving direct feedback on the verification flow, the migration process, and what agencies managing LSAs at scale need from the new system. We're already running pilot profiles through it today, and because we manage LSA leads, bidding, and reporting through Google's API rather than the portal interface, you'll keep getting the same leads, the same reporting, and the same management through the migration and after it.
Here's what's staying the same:
Booking leads, message leads, and lead feedback management still work the way they do today
You'll still get the same leads and the same reporting
LSAs stay a pay-per-lead model with their own campaign ID, budget, and reporting
Here's what's changing:
All of it moves into Google Ads instead of the standalone LSA portal
Verification is getting an overhaul: background checks, certificates of insurance, and license verification are being replaced with an identity check (you submit an ID and get matched against your business registration through Dun & Bradstreet). This is already live for home services and franchise businesses, with more industries rolling out in the future.
Your Google Business Profile (GBP) will be fully synced to your LSA profile, so your name, address, hours, and categories pull directly from GBP instead of being managed separately
"This is the biggest shift in how LSAs verify and run since the program launched," said Caitlin Dapello, Director of Advertising Product at Scorpion. "Google's product and engineering teams have been building this with our feedback for the past eight months, specifically around what agencies managing LSAs at scale actually need."
Managing LSAs is about to take a lot more hands-on Google Ads expertise than it used to. Agencies without the infrastructure to support the new verification and reporting model are going to feel that shift directly. Scorpion built that infrastructure alongside Google, which is exactly why nothing changes on your side.
"LSAs are no longer going to be a set-it-and-forget-it product," Dapello said. "Agencies are going to need to know how to build and manage a PMax campaign in Google Ads directly, there won't be a simple portal to fall back on. That's a meaningful gap for anyone who hasn't already built for it."
If you run LSAs with Scorpion, we've got you covered, and no action is needed on your end. If you're managing LSAs elsewhere, reach out to our team so we can walk you through what this transition looks like with a partner who's already built for it.
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