The digital landscape is changing fast, and those who don’t adapt get left behind. Google just dropped a bombshell by revealing how it’s using cutting-edge tech to clean up its advertising ecosystem. Millions of shady accounts vanished overnight, proving the game has changed. If you thought slipping through the cracks was easy, think again—the rules just got rewritten.
Google recently shared that it disabled 39.2 million advertiser profiles in 2024, a staggering increase from previous years. This massive cleanup was powered by advanced language models that detect red flags like fake business profiles and suspicious payment methods. The tech allows the platform to shut down questionable accounts before they even run a single promotion. Over the past year, the company rolled out more than 50 upgrades to its AI systems to strengthen security across its services.
While these models play a crucial role, human oversight remains part of the equation. Alex Rodriguez, who leads Ads Safety at Google, emphasized this balance during a recent briefing. He explained that a specialized team of over 100 professionals—including safety experts, policy specialists, and AI researchers—works to combat deceptive practices like deepfake scams. Their efforts led to new defenses and over 30 policy adjustments last year.
These changes helped remove more than 700,000 problematic accounts, drastically reducing complaints about AI-generated impersonations. In the U.S., the company took action against 39.2 million accounts and pulled 1.8 billion promotions for violations ranging from false healthcare claims to misleading branding. India followed as the second-most affected region, with 2.9 million account removals and 247.4 million promotions taken down, primarily for issues in financial services and gaming.
Among the suspended accounts, 5 million were tied to outright scams, contributing to nearly 500 million deceptive promotions being erased. With major global elections happening in 2024, Google also stepped up scrutiny on political content. It reviewed more than 8,900 new election-related advertisers and removed 10.7 million associated promotions. Rodriguez noted that these made up a small fraction of total promotions and didn’t heavily influence the year’s safety results.
Overall, the platform blocked 5.1 billion promotions and eliminated 1.3 billion pages in 2024. Compared to 2023, these numbers show progress in preemptive measures—fewer bad actors slip through when detection improves early. Another 9.1 billion promotions faced restrictions for not fully complying with guidelines.
Large-scale enforcement often raises questions about fairness, so Google maintains an appeals process involving human judgment to confirm proper decisions. Rodriguez acknowledged past communication gaps, stating the team worked on clarifying policies and explanations to reduce confusion. This focus on transparency will continue shaping their approach moving forward.