Google blocks record 8.3 billion ads as AI reshapes enforcement

Google blocked a record 8.3 billion ads globally in 2025, according to data reported by the company on Thursday. This represents a significant increase from the 5.1 billion ads blocked the year before. However, the search giant suspended fewer advertiser accounts than the surge in blocked ads might suggest, reflecting a strategic shift in how the company polices its platform by targeting individual ads rather than entire accounts.

The company attributed this change to its Gemini AI models—Google’s family of AI systems. According to Google, these AI-driven systems caught more than 99% of policy-violating ads before they were shown to users. Keerat Sharma, VP and general manager of ads privacy and safety at Google, stated that this technology allows the company to enforce policies “at a much more granular level, on a creative level, as opposed to using a much more blunt instrument, like advertiser suspensions.” Sharma attributed this approach to an 80% year-over-year reduction in incorrect suspensions.

The scale of this enforcement is detailed in Google’s Ads Safety Report, which is the company’s annual report on ad enforcement. Out of the total enforcement actions, 602 million ads and 4 million advertiser accounts were linked to scams, highlighting the persistent challenge of deceptive campaigns.

Regional data from the report highlights the scale of the challenge across different markets:

• United States: Google removed 1.7 billion ads and suspended 3.3 million advertiser accounts.
• India: Google blocked 483.7 million ads, while account suspensions fell to 1.7 million from 2.9 million the previous year.

Google asserted that the rise in blocked ads reflects the growing use of generative AI by scammers to produce deceptive content at scale. To counter this, the company uses layered defenses, including advertiser verification—a process requiring businesses to confirm their identity before running ads. This process is designed to prevent bad actors from creating accounts in the first place. However, Sharma noted that these numbers are likely to fluctuate over time as Google rolls out new defenses and bad actors adapt to the platform’s security measures.

Why it matters

Google is moving away from blunt account suspensions toward AI-powered, granular ad blocking to combat the rise of AI-generated scams. This signals a broader shift in how major digital platforms police content and enforce policies at scale.