Thumbtack put you in Google's AI. Read the fine print.

Originally sent in From the Desk of Justin Hubbard on October 5, 2026.

The short version: As of October 5, 2026, active Thumbtack pros were automatically included in Google's AI Mode results, but a lead that starts in Google costs the same as any other Thumbtack lead and comes out of the same weekly budget. Add your full street address to your Thumbtack profile, then decide on or off by what a Thumbtack lead costs you per booked job.

If you're on Thumbtack, you probably got the same email I did.

Thumbtack is putting its pros inside Google's AI Mode search results. If you're active on the platform, you're already in. No signup, no setup, nothing to click.

I run a $2M junk removal business from 1,200 miles away in under an hour a day. The only way that works is reading emails like this one for what they leave out. Here's what this one leaves out.

How it works

A homeowner searches for a local service in Google's AI Mode. Google shows them a handful of pros, and Google picks who shows up and in what order, not Thumbtack. The homeowner taps "Get a quote," lands on your Thumbtack profile, answers the usual questions, and the request shows up in your Jobs tab like any other lead.

It's completely separate from your Google Business Profile. Nothing about your GBP changes.

"Free" means free to show up

The email leads with "no cost to appear." That part's true. The rest is in the FAQ. A lead that starts in Google costs the same as any other Thumbtack lead, and it comes out of the same weekly budget. Run out of budget and you drop out of Google's results too, until you raise it or it resets the next week.

So this isn't free leads. It's more traffic pointed at the same paid funnel.

The one thing to do today

Put your full street address on your Thumbtack profile. Thumbtack says it helps Google match your business to local searches. It takes two minutes.

That's your Thumbtack profile only. If you run a service-area business and keep your address hidden on Google, leave your GBP exactly how it is.

Leave it on or turn it off?

It comes down to one number: what a Thumbtack lead costs you per booked job, compared to what that job is worth to you.

If Thumbtack makes you money, leave it on and let Google send more of it. If you're breaking even on it, more volume at the same price doesn't make you richer. It makes you busier. I wrote a whole book about that trap, and more leads at a thin margin is the fastest way into it.

If you want out, do it from a web browser. Log in, click your profile photo, go to Manage third-party platform visibility, and toggle Google Search AI Mode off. Google can take up to 24 hours to catch up. If you opted out of Google Reserve in the past, that doesn't carry over. You're in until you turn this off.

The bigger picture

This isn't Thumbtack's first AI deal. It was an early partner on OpenAI's Operator agent, and this spring it plugged into Claude. Now Google.

Marketplaces are becoming one of the places AI search pulls local pros from. That's not a reason to panic. It's a reason to be clear about what you own and what you rent.

Your Google Business Profile and your website are yours, and nobody bills you per lead from them. Thumbtack is rented. Every lead has a price tag, and the landlord sets the rules. AI search now shows both. The owners who come out ahead are the ones who know their numbers on each.

Go fix your address. Then pull your last 90 days of Thumbtack leads, count how many turned into booked jobs, and decide.

— Justin

Related: Should you use HomeAdvisor, Angi, or lead gen companies? · Google just put a "book" button inside AI Mode · Junk removal Google Ads cost per booked job