Google is retiring its standalone Local Services Ads (LSAs) dashboard and migrating all existing LSA campaigns into Google Ads. The rollout begins in August 2026 and runs through 2027. For PI firms currently running LSAs, the platform is changing, but the leads are not.
Why LSAs Matter for PI Firms
Google’s Local Services Ads are one of the highest-intent placements available to personal injury firms. They appear at the top of search results, above both paid search ads and organic listings, and connect your firm directly with people who are actively looking for legal help in your market. You pay only for valid leads: real calls and messages from potential clients, not clicks that go nowhere.
That combination of placement, intent, and pay-per-lead pricing is why LSAs have become a meaningful part of a well-built paid digital strategy for PI firms.
For firms running LSAs or considering testing them, Google recently announced changes to the current stand-alone LSA platform. Learn more about what our paid digital team can incorporate an LSA campaign for your firm.
What Google Is Actually Changing
Google is consolidating LSAs into a specialized campaign type inside Google Ads, built specifically for pay-per-lead goals. The standalone LSA dashboard goes away. Everything moves into the Google Ads interface, where budgets, targeting, and lead management will be handled.
A few specific changes come with migration.
- Weekly budgets convert to daily budgets: Google divides your average weekly spend by seven to calculate a daily figure. Your monthly spend cap will stay the same. Daily spend may fluctuate, but your billing will not exceed the monthly limit.
- Manual bidding is going away: The ability to set a maximum cost-per-lead is being phased out. Google Ads uses a campaign-level Target CPA instead. If your account previously managed separate bidding for different case types under one campaign, those will consolidate unless you set up separate campaigns.
- BBB callouts are being removed: They will need to be replaced with other structured callouts on the new platform.
- Historical performance reports will not carry over: Once migration is complete, your previous LSA dashboard data will no longer be accessible inside Google Ads. This is the one area that requires action before your migration date.
What is not changing: your ads will continue to appear in the same positions on Google Search and Google Maps. Targeting remains keywordless based on your service categories and location. Your Google Verified badge will transfer automatically.
When Your Account Will Migrate
Google is rolling out the migration in phases, so not every account moves at once.
- August 2026: The first wave begins for select home and storefront service advertisers in the U.S., covering categories like plumbing, HVAC, and pest control.
- Late 2026: The migration expands to broader advertiser groups, including service-area businesses and accounts with custom bidding configurations.
- 2027: All remaining accounts, including non-U.S. advertisers and categories not covered in the earlier phases, complete the transition.
PI law firms are expected to fall into the later phases. You will receive an email notification 14 days before your migration date, with a follow-up reminder seven days out. Plan for up to two weeks for performance to stabilize after the transition is completed.
What This Means If cj Manages Your LSAs
If we are managing your LSA account, no action is needed from you. The cj team is tracking migration timelines across our firms’ accounts and will handle the preparation work before your date arrives.
Specifically, we will back up your historical performance reporting prior to the transition, ensuring your data remains intact for future reference. Once migration begins, we will review your new bidding setup, confirm your targeting settings have been carried over correctly, and adjust as needed to keep lead flow stable through the changeover.
We have been managing LSA accounts for PI firms since the product was launched. That experience informs how we move through changes like this: methodically, ahead of the deadline, with your intake performance as the metric we track.
Get a Status Check on Your Account
If you want to know where your firm’s LSA account stands ahead of the migration, we can walk you through it. Connect with our paid digital team, and we will tell you exactly where things stand and what, if anything, needs attention before your migration date.
