Google Blocks Millions of Fraudulent Ad Accounts Using AI in 2024

04/16/2025 Technology

Google has announced a significant escalation in its fight against ad fraud, revealing the suspension of a staggering 39.2 million advertiser accounts in 2024. This marks a more than threefold increase compared to the previous year, demonstrating Google's commitment to cleaning up its advertising ecosystem.

The company is leveraging the power of large language models (LLMs) and analyzing key signals, such as business impersonation and suspicious payment details, to proactively identify and suspend fraudulent accounts. According to Google, this approach allows them to block a "vast majority" of these accounts before they even have the chance to display an ad.

AI and Human Expertise Working Together

While AI plays a crucial role in Google's anti-fraud efforts, the company emphasizes the importance of human oversight. Alex Rodriguez, a general manager for Ads Safety at Google, highlighted that a team of over 100 experts, including members from Ads Safety, Trust and Safety, and DeepMind, are involved in the process. This team analyzes sophisticated ad scams, such as those involving deepfake impersonations of public figures, and develops effective countermeasures.

Last year saw the implementation of over 30 policy updates and technical measures, resulting in the suspension of over 700,000 fraudulent advertising accounts and a 90% reduction in reported deepfake ads.

In the U.S. alone, Google suspended 39.2 million advertiser accounts and removed 1.8 billion ads in 2024, with key violations related to ad network abuse, trademark misuse, healthcare claims, personalized ads, and misrepresentation. India, the second-largest internet market, saw 2.9 million account suspensions and the removal of 247.4 million ads.

Of all the account suspensions, 5 million were related to scam-related violations, with Google removing almost half a billion ads linked to scams.

Focus on Election Integrity

With half the world's population heading to the polls in 2024, Google also focused on election integrity. The company verified over 8,900 new election advertisers and removed 10.7 million election ads.

Overall, Google blocked 5.1 billion ads and removed 1.3 billion pages in 2024. The company believes that the decreasing numbers compared to 2023 indicate the success of its preventative measures.

Google also restricted 9.1 billion ads last year. To address concerns about fairness, Google offers an appeal process with human reviews to ensure appropriate action.

Looking ahead, Google plans to improve transparency and communication with advertisers regarding policy violations.