Google has suspended 12.7 million ad accounts and blocked 5.5 billion ads by 2023

Google’s 2023 Ads Safety Report found that it blocked or removed 12.7 million advertiser accounts last year – almost double the previous 12 months.

Additionally, the search engine blocked or removed 5.5 billion ads for violating its policies – slightly more than the previous year.

Why we care. Crackdowns on fraudulent accounts are critical to brand safety and also help create a safer environment for consumers so they can transact online with confidence. However, there is also a potential risk associated with AI, as it can wrongly suspend real advertisers and advertisements.

The report’s findings. In the 2023 Google Ads Safety Report, Google found the following:

• Google has blocked or removed 206.5 million ads for violating our misrepresentation policy, which includes many scam tactics.
• Google has blocked or removed 273.4 million ads for violating our Financial Services Policy.
• Google has blocked or removed more than 1 billion ads for violating its policies against ad network abuse, including the promotion of malware.
• Google blocked or limited the display of ads on more than 2.1 billion publisher pages.
• Google has taken broader site-level enforcement actions against more than 395,000 publisher sites, a significant increase from 2022.

Updates. Google claimed that scams and fraud were on the rise across all platforms in 2023. To combat these threats, the company has implemented 31 updates to its advertising and publishing policies, including:

• Updating eligibility checks to make it easier and faster for advertisers to exclude topics they want to avoid in YouTube and Display inventory.
• Updating its misrepresentation policy to improve Google’s ability to quickly suspend bad actors’ accounts.
• Launch of the Limited Ad Serving Policy, which is designed to protect users by limiting the reach of advertisers with whom Google is less familiar.
• Launch of the Ads Transparency Center – where users can easily search and find ads from verified advertisers across platforms such as Search, YouTube and Display.

AI. In the report, Google highlighted how AI plays a crucial role in its efforts to combat bad actors. Using AI, Google claims it can identify and suspend fraudulent accounts before they even hit its platforms, or remove them as soon as they are detected.

Moving forward. Google didn’t share exact details about what future updates we can expect as we move into 2024, but the search engine confirmed it would continue to invest in policy, detection, and enforcement.

Profession. If you disagree with Google’s decisions and believe that your ad does not violate Google’s policies, you can appeal any enforcement action. Google will review your appeal and if it determines that it has made an incorrect decision, it will use these bodies to improve its systems.

What Google says. Duncan Lennox, VP & GM of Ads Privacy and Safety, said in a statement:

• “Our goal is to catch bad ads and suspend fraudulent accounts before they arrive on our platforms, or immediately remove them as soon as they are detected. AI improves our enforcement on all fronts.”
• “To put the impact of AI on this work into perspective, last year more than 90% of our publisher page-level enforcement began using machine learning models, including our latest LLMs.”

Deep dive. Read Google’s 2023 Advertising safety report complete for more information.