Google can now charge you for calls nobody answered. KeptRing answers them.
KeptRing is a done-for-you AI receptionist for HVAC, plumbing, and electrical shops. It picks up the calls your team can't get to, takes the job details, and emails you a lead summary right after the call. $197/month after a 14-day pilot. Cancel anytime.
The demo answers as Summit Heating & Plumbing, a fictional company. Callers always hear that it's an automated assistant and that the call may be recorded.
What changed on October 1, 2026
Google updated its Local Services Ads lead rules starting Oct. 1, 2026, as reported by Search Engine Land. Google's help page now lists this as a valid, chargeable lead:
"You missed a phone call during your business hours and the customer stays on the line for more than 20 seconds."
Google Local Services Help, "How leads work"
Voicemail counts as connected
Google says a business-hours call that goes to voicemail or an automated greeting is "treated as a connected call" and can be charged after 20 seconds, whether or not the caller leaves a message.
"Business hours" means your profile
Google uses the hours in your Google Business Profile. If you also run an ad schedule, missed calls are only charged inside both.
Answered calls haven't changed
When someone picks up, the call is judged as an answered call, the way it was before. The 20-second rule applies only to missed calls.
Read the full breakdown with every quote and its source: Google LSA now charges for some missed calls: what contractors should know.
What KeptRing does on every call
Answers when you can't
Overflow calls while your crew is on a job, plus after-hours calls, roll to your KeptRing receptionist. Your business number stays the same.
Says what it is
Every call opens with your company name, a plain statement that it's a virtual assistant, and that the call may be recorded. It never pretends to be a person.
Handles emergencies safely
Gas smell or CO alarm? It tells the caller to leave the house and call 911 or the gas utility from outside, and gives no troubleshooting. Active leaks get flagged as urgent.
Takes the job
Name, callback number, service address, the problem, how urgent it is, and when they'd like someone out. One question at a time, in under three minutes.
Emails you the lead Live
A summary lands in your inbox right after the call, with urgency marked so you know what to call back first.
Texts After carrier registration
Text alerts to you and text-back to callers who hang up will turn on after US carrier registration (A2P 10DLC) is approved. Until then, everything goes by email.
What KeptRing won't do
- Lower what Google charges per lead. It makes sure the calls you're paying for get answered.
- Log into or change your Google Ads or Local Services account.
- Make AI calls to anyone. KeptRing answers inbound calls only.
- Quote prices or promise arrival times on your behalf.
- Claim to be human.
- Go live with a script you haven't approved.
Live in three steps
Tell us about your shop
Services, service area, hours, what counts as an emergency, and where leads should go.
Approve your script
We build your receptionist and you hear it before anything changes. Edit anything you don't like.
Turn on call forwarding
Missed or after-hours calls forward to your KeptRing line. Turn it off anytime with your phone provider.
One plan: $197 per month
A 14-day pilot first, then $197/month per business phone line. Month-to-month, cancel anytime. No setup fee.
Results
KeptRing is new and onboarding its first pilot contractors now. We won't post testimonials, logos, or results until real customers give us real ones. Until then, the demo line is the proof: call it and judge for yourself.
Hear it before you decide.
Call the demo line and pretend you're a homeowner with no heat, or say you're a contractor and ask how it works. It costs nothing and takes two minutes.
The demo answers as Summit Heating & Plumbing, a fictional company. You'll hear that it's an automated assistant and that the call may be recorded.