Google Just Expanded Local Services Ads Booking Partners by 2,400%

Google has expanded the booking-partner network for Local Services Ads (LSA) from about 20 partners to more than 500, a roughly 2,400% increase. Google Ads Liaison Ginny Marvin confirmed the change on X on August 26: if your Google Business Profile already has an active partner booking link, that link is now automatically enabled on your LSA too, no manual setup required. For trades running LSAs in Collingwood or anywhere in Georgian Bay, this means more customers can book a job straight from your ad without ever calling.

What actually changed

Per Marvin’s post, quoted by Search Engine Roundtable, three things changed starting August 26:

• Direct booking from LSAs: if your GBP already has an active partner booking link, it’s now live on your LSA automatically. Customers can book directly from your ad on Search and Maps.
• Lead tracking: bookings made this way flow into your LSA lead reporting as paid leads, viewable and manageable from your Local Services Ads profile like any other lead.
• Controls: you can adjust booking preferences or turn off a specific partner link anytime from Profile & Budget > Settings in your LSA dashboard.

Google says these settings carry over when LSA accounts move into the main Google Ads platform later this year, the migration this site covered when it was first announced.

What this means for Georgian Bay businesses

If you run Local Services Ads as a plumber, electrician, HVAC tech, or another qualifying trade, check whether your scheduling or booking software is a “Reserve with Google” partner. If it is, and it’s already linked to your Google Business Profile, this change may already be live on your ads with nothing for you to do. A customer who books directly through your ad skips the phone call entirely, which cuts both ways: you get the lead without needing to answer, but you also need your booking calendar kept accurate, since a bad slot shown to a customer costs you the same as a bad answered call.

Not every business has a booking-partner integration, and phone calls will stay the main way most Georgian Bay trade leads come in for the foreseeable future. If a caller can’t book online and you don’t pick up, you’re still relying on a callback, and our missed-call text-back service exists for exactly that gap: instant reply the moment a call goes unanswered, whether or not your booking software is one of Google’s 500-plus partners. Worth reviewing your LSA dashboard’s booking settings either way, since Google enabled this by default if the link already existed.

FAQ

Do I need to sign up for anything to get this? No. If your Google Business Profile already has an active “Reserve with Google” partner booking link, Google enabled it on your Local Services Ads automatically. Check Profile & Budget > Settings in your LSA dashboard to see or adjust it.

Does this apply to Canadian LSA advertisers? Google’s own Local Services Help documentation treats US and Canada leads under one framework, and neither Google’s announcement nor Search Engine Roundtable’s coverage carves out a US-only exception. Canadian advertisers should expect this applies to their accounts too; confirm in your own LSA dashboard settings.

What if my booking software isn’t one of the 500+ partners? Nothing changes for you; your LSA keeps working the way it did before, and leads still come in primarily by phone. Check with your scheduling software provider if you’re unsure whether they’re a Reserve with Google partner.

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Sourced from Search Engine Roundtable’s August 26, 2026 report, which quotes Google Ads Liaison Ginny Marvin’s X post directly. Google’s own Local Services Help documentation had not been updated with partner-count specifics as of this writing.