Google can now charge Local Services Ads advertisers for some calls nobody answers, and its help pages give UK advertisers no automatic way to get money back for a poor lead. This guide explains when a missed call is charged, what UK accounts can and cannot do compared with US ones, and how to cut what you pay for calls nobody could answer.
The answer in brief
- Google’s help pages, including the UK English version, say a missed call to a Local Services ad during business hours can be charged when the caller stays on the line for more than 20 seconds. Calls that reach voicemail or a greeting count, whether or not the caller leaves a message.
- Google says automatic lead credits are not available to advertisers in EMEA, and that call recordings and lead credits are not available for any vertical in Europe. Budget on getting no automatic credits back in the UK.
- UK leads come by phone. Google’s help pages limit message and booking leads to the US and Canada.
- Start by keeping your Business Profile hours accurate and setting your Local Services ad schedule to the hours someone can answer the phone.
- UK accounts move into Google Ads in 2027. Past leads transfer, but historical performance reports do not, so save them before your account moves.
When does Google charge a UK advertiser for a missed call?
When the call comes in during your business hours and the caller stays on the line for more than 20 seconds. Google announced the rule in an email to advertisers for 1 October 2026, and its UK English How leads work page sets it out with no country limit, although we found no UK-specific start date from Google; check your account notifications for one.
Three details decide whether a missed call is charged. Business hours are the hours on your Google Business Profile, and if your ad schedule is narrower, Google charges unanswered calls only when they fall inside both. A call that reaches voicemail or a recorded greeting is treated as connected and charged once the caller has been on the line for more than 20 seconds, message or not. With a phone menu, the timer starts at the caller’s first key press, and a caller who hangs up without pressing a key costs nothing.
Repeat contact is free for a while. Once a lead is charged, further calls from the same number within 15 days are not charged again; after 15 days with no contact, a new call can be charged as a new lead. A callback can also create the first charge if the original missed call did not qualify. Answered calls are judged on the conversation, not on how long the phone rang.
A missed call can cost you twice. Google’s ranking page says missed calls may count against your responsiveness, one of the factors that decides where your ad appears.
Can UK advertisers get money back for a bad lead?
Not automatically. Google’s lead credits page says credits “aren’t available for health care verticals, tax specialists or advertisers in EMEA”, and the leads page adds that call recordings and lead credits aren’t available for any vertical in Europe. One line on the leads page names only EEA countries, which no longer include the UK, but the other two statements cover it. Without those recordings, you cannot replay a call from your Local Services account to check what happened.
Google still screens contacts before charging and does not charge for those it judges invalid, low quality or duplicate. But a charged UK lead that turns out to be a poor fit will not be credited automatically, so tight job types and service areas have to do the work that credits do for eligible US advertisers. Even in the US, Google no longer credits leads for job types or areas the business does not serve.
If the table extends beyond the screen, scroll sideways to view all columns.
| Feature | US accounts | UK accounts |
|---|---|---|
| Missed calls over 20 seconds can be charged | US accountsYes, since 1 October 2026 | UK accountsYes, on Google’s UK English page |
| Automatic lead credits | US accountsFor eligible advertisers; most credits applied within 30 days | UK accountsNo |
| Call recordings | US accountsYes, for most categories | UK accountsNo |
| Message leads | US accountsYes | UK accountsNo: US and Canada only |
| Booking leads | US accountsYes | UK accountsNo: US and Canada only |
| New-lead alerts by text | US accountsYes | UK accountsNo: email only |
| Built-in review requests (UK advertisers can still share a review link) | US accountsYes | UK accountsNo: US and Canada only |
How do you cut the cost of calls nobody could answer?
Start with the ad schedule. Google charges missed calls only when they fall inside both your Business Profile hours and your Local Services ad schedule, so set the ad schedule to the hours someone can actually answer. Keep the Business Profile hours accurate: Google asks for your regular customer-facing hours, and trimming them to save on ads misleads customers. A plumber open until 8pm with nobody on the phone after 5pm can end the ad schedule at 5pm instead.
Then decide what happens when nobody answers. A voicemail greeting no longer protects you, because a call that reaches it counts after 20 seconds. Divert unanswered calls to a colleague or an answering service that takes enquiries for your business; Google’s rules require the work itself to stay with your business. You still pay for valid leads that get answered, but you keep the enquiry. To stop leads for a while, pause the ad or use the temporarily closed status in your Local Services account, not the closure setting on your Business Profile. Google’s edit-your-ad page explains both. Changes can take a few hours to go live, and deselecting every job type does not stop leads.
If you use a phone menu, make the first option reach a person quickly, since the timer starts at the first key press. And call back fast: once a missed call has been charged, a return call within 15 days creates no second charge, and it gives you the chance to turn that lead into a job.
The profile behind the ad matters as well. Rating and reviews come from your Google Business Profile, and Google’s ranking page counts rating, review count, responsiveness and high-quality images towards where the ad appears. Your Local Services account has a review link to share with customers, under Business verifications. Google is also testing an AI agent that replies to Business Profile messages; our post on whether UK businesses can use Google Business Profile AI messaging covers where it stands.
What changes when UK accounts move into Google Ads in 2027?
Where you manage the ads changes; the ads themselves mostly do not. Google’s transition page schedules non-US accounts for 2027, when Local Services Ads become a Performance Max campaign type with pay-per-lead goals inside Google Ads. Ads keep their places on Search and Maps, and you still pay per lead.
On the day, the weekly budget becomes a daily one, set at a seventh of the weekly figure, with monthly spend capped at the daily budget times 30.4. Manual bidding goes, and separate Target CPAs by category become one campaign-level target unless you split categories into separate campaigns. Business name, address and hours come from the Google Business Profile, and a significant change to the name or address triggers a review, typically of 24 to 48 hours, during which the campaign may pause.
The point to act on now is the reporting. Past lead history moves across, but historical performance reports, including spend, do not, and the old dashboard closes. Google emails the account administrator 14 days before the move and again seven days later, and tells advertisers to save their reports first. It says a download page for past reports will be available soon, and suggests screenshots if you need them now. Save yours well before the email arrives, and allow up to two weeks after the move for performance to settle before comparing results.
What do London law firms need to know?
Legal and estate agency categories run in the UK only in Greater London, as a pilot, and the ads do not show outside it.
London firms have one more change to watch. On 19 October 2026 Search Engine Roundtable reported a Google notice inside advertisers’ accounts saying featured professionals “will no longer show on your ads” and that headshots are optional. The notice names no country, and Google’s UK help pages still describe featured professionals and still list headshots among the requirements for professional pre-badge ads, so whether London accounts are affected is unconfirmed. Check the account’s notifications.
Google’s UK screening page lists, under every legal category, “Active membership with the Solicitors or Barrister regulation authorities for each member in the firm”. If the ad stops naming them, the firm’s own website is where clients meet its people; our guide to building a law firm website that meets SRA rules covers what that site needs.
What should you do this month?
- Match the ad schedule to your phone cover. Keep Business Profile hours accurate and set the Local Services ad schedule to the hours someone can answer.
- Cover unanswered calls. Route them to a colleague or an answering service acting for your business, or pause the ad when nobody can cover.
- Tighten targeting. With no automatic credits, remove job types and areas you do not want. If general searches such as “plumber near me” bring poor leads, untick broad search under Profile and budget; London law firms also have an “Appear in general law searches” toggle. Google warns that turning off broad search may mean fewer leads.
- Save your reports. Record charged leads and spend by month from the Reports page, and repeat each quarter until your account moves.
- Track cost per charged lead. Compare September with October onwards, or from the date in your account notice if it gives one, and check charged calls against your phone log before putting any change down to the October rule. If you record bookings, track cost per booked job as well.
Running Local Services Ads in the UK and unsure how missed-call charges affect your costs? Talk to AIWIZ and we will go through the account with you.