In 2024, Google conducted a massive cleanup of its advertising platform, removing over 39.2 million accounts associated with fraudulent activity. This is three times more than the previous year, indicating an active fight against the misuse of the service. According to the company, this achievement was made possible by the implementation of new technologies based on artificial intelligence (AI) and large language models (LLM).
This is reported by Business • Media
The use of modern algorithms allows for the detection of potential violators even before the publication of advertisements. Key indicators of fraud include identity theft, illegal use of payment information, and user deception. According to Alex Rodriguez, head of Google’s advertising security division, the effectiveness of AI-based systems is complemented by the work of a team of over 100 experts from various Google divisions, including Ads Safety, Trust and Safety, and DeepMind.
As a result, the company conducted over 50 updates to its artificial intelligence systems and changed more than 30 rules in its advertising policy, contributing to a 90% reduction in complaints about fake ads. Notably, the highest number of blocks was recorded in India — over 2.9 million accounts and 247 million removed ads. The main areas of fraud are finance and gambling.
Overall, in 2024, Google blocked 5.1 billion ads and restricted the distribution of another 9.1 billion. Additionally, 1.3 billion pages that violated publisher rights were removed, and verification of 8,900 new political advertisers was completed, resulting in the removal of 10.7 million political ads.
In total, over 5 million blocked accounts were directly related to fraud. It is important to note that the majority of violators were stopped at early stages before their ads were shown to users, indicating a high level of prevention and quick response from the company.
“We are actively working to make our platform safer for users and advertisers,” said a Google representative.
It is worth noting that earlier reports mentioned updates to advertising requirements for crypto companies in the European Union due to the implementation of the MiCA regulatory framework.