To keep its advertising platform clean, Google revealed it suspended 39.2 million advertiser accounts in 2024, a number that’s more than three times higher than the previous year.
This bold crackdown, driven by advanced artificial intelligence and large language models, shows Google’s determination to stamp out ad fraud, scams, and policy violations.
By combining cutting-edge tech with human expertise, the company is working hard to make its platform a safer and more trustworthy place for everyone.
At the heart of this effort are large language models, or LLMs, which have transformed how Google spots fraudulent accounts.
These AI tools analyze things like fake business details or shady payment methods, catching most problematic accounts before their ads ever hit the platform. In 2024, Google rolled out over 50 upgrades to its LLMs, giving its fraud detection systems a major boost and helping protect users across its services.
But it’s not just about algorithms. Google stresses that people still play a big role. Alex Rodriguez, who leads Ads Safety at Google, shared in a virtual press briefing that while AI is a powerful weapon, humans are involved every step of the way.
A team of over 100 specialists, including members from Google’s Ads Safety group, Trust and Safety team, and even DeepMind researchers, came together to tackle tricky problems like deepfake ad scams.
These scams, often mimicking well-known figures, have been a growing issue, but Google’s work paid off. After suspending over 700,000 accounts and adding new tech defenses and policy changes, the company saw a 90% drop in deepfake ad complaints.
The stats paint a clear picture. In the U.S., Google shut down 39.2 million accounts and removed 1.8 billion ads, targeting issues like ad network abuse, trademark violations, and misleading health claims.
In India, the world’s second-biggest internet market, Google suspended 2.9 million accounts and took down 247.4 million ads, with violations tied to financial services, gambling, and more. Worldwide, the company removed nearly half a billion scam-related ads and banned 5 million accounts for scam violations alone.
Google didn’t stop there. With 2024 being a huge election year globally, the company vetted over 8,900 new election advertisers and removed 10.7 million election ads that broke its rules.
While election ads are a small slice of Google’s overall ad volume, these steps show how seriously the company takes platform integrity during critical times.
All told, Google blocked 5.1 billion ads and removed 1.3 billion web pages in 2024, slightly down from 5.5 billion ads and 2.1 billion pages in 2023.
Google says this dip is good news—it means its early detection systems are catching bad actors before they can cause trouble. The company also limited the reach of 9.1 billion ads, keeping questionable content in check.
Big crackdowns like this can sometimes spark concerns about fairness, and Google admits it hasn’t always gotten things perfect.
To fix this, it’s overhauled its appeal process, adding more human reviewers and clearer explanations about why accounts get suspended. Rodriguez said the company has focused on being more transparent, updating policies and messaging to help advertisers understand what’s happening and why.
Scammers and fraudsters keep finding new tricks, Google isn’t slowing down. The company plans to keep blending AI innovation with human know-how to stay ahead of the game.
For advertisers and users, this means a platform that’s safer and more reliable—a sign that even in the fast-paced world of online ads, building trust is what matters most.
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