LSA moves into Google Ads: new categories and dates

August 2026 is already the starting line: Google has begun moving Local Services Ads management into the regular Google Ads interface. The first phase covers a slice of US advertisers in home service and storefront categories, more accounts follow later this year, and non-US accounts plus the remaining categories migrate in 2027.

At the same time Google broke the categories themselves into much finer pieces. One generic «Restaurant» became separate entries for American, Chinese and Italian food, pizza, sushi, steakhouses and vegan places. Automotive grew from «auto repair» and «car wash» into a list covering tire shops, oil changes, auto glass, brake service, transmissions, car batteries and inspections. Beauty services were split out as well — the full breakdown is on Search Engine Land.

The mechanics of the format stay exactly where they were:

• you still pay for valid leads, not clicks;
• campaigns remain keywordless — category and service area decide everything;
• ads appear only in Search and Maps, no new placements added;
• existing setups migrate automatically, nothing needs rebuilding by hand.

Two less obvious details. First, pre-badge ads: a business that clears the preliminary checks can start collecting leads before full verification is done, though it shows below fully verified providers. Second, the trust badge is no longer available in auto, beauty and dining categories — previously that restriction applied to dining only.

Here is the plan before the deadline. Check whether your old broad category has split into several narrow ones, and whether the one you kept still describes what you sell. Separate budgets by the new categories: a transmission lead and an oil-change lead cost very different money, and one bucket hides that. Give Google Ads access in advance to whoever runs LSA from a standalone interface, and book time in 2027 to rebuild reporting. LSA is not live in Ukraine yet, but the direction is clear: Google is pushing local advertising toward categories and leads instead of keywords.