Advertising
Google blocks 5.5 billion ads a year
Google has blocked or removed 12.7 million advertiser accounts, according to Lennox. This corresponds to almost doubling compared to the previous year. photo
© Christoph Dernbach/dpa
For Google, artificial intelligence is both a blessing and a curse. AI makes it easier to create fraudulent ads. But it also helps to identify and block unwanted content.
Google manager Duncan Lennox, vice president of ad security at the search engine operator, said: “Google’s goal is to identify fraudulent ads and block accounts before they reach Google’s platforms , or to remove them as soon as they are discovered.”
AI is bringing changes to the digital advertising industry
The most important trend in 2023 was the impact of generative artificial intelligence, as known from chatbots like Google Gemini. This new technology has triggered relevant and significant changes in the digital advertising industry – from performance optimizations to image editing. “But there is also no question that the introduction of readily available AI video tools has exacerbated the proliferation of fraudulent ads using so-called deepfakes,” Lennox said.
Deepfakes are photos, videos or audio files that are intentionally altered using artificial intelligence. You see or hear people doing or saying things that they have never actually done or said.
Detect fraudulent content
The Google manager emphasized that AI helps to simultaneously detect fraudulent content and enforce Google’s policies. AI is significantly involved in 90 percent of blocking decisions. If the advertisers or publishers think the AI made a mistake, Google teams would review it. In cases where errors are encountered, these findings are used to further improve the systems.
According to Lennox, in 2023 Google not only removed 5.5 billion questionable or even fraudulent ads, but at the same time blocked or removed 12.7 million advertiser accounts, almost doubling compared to the previous year. The company does not communicate the number of advertising placements per year on its own pages or via Google’s advertising network. Industry experts estimate that Google’s servers deliver an advertisement an average of around 30 billion times every day.