NAIROBI, Kenya, Apr 22 – A new report by Google has spotlighted the growing role of artificial intelligence (AI) in the fight against harmful online content, revealing that in 2024 alone, over 5.1 billion ads were blocked or removed before ever reaching users.
The 2024 Ads Safety Report, released this past week, details how Google’s advanced AI—powered by its Gemini model—is transforming digital safety by preventing scams, misinformation, and impersonation ads at an unprecedented scale.
In addition to the blocked ads, the company restricted 9.1 billion more and suspended over 39 million advertiser accounts, with many actions taken before a single ad was served.
As scammers adopt more sophisticated tactics, including fake business identities, stolen payment methods, and AI-generated content, Google’s AI tools have adapted to detect fraud signals more quickly and accurately.
According to Alex Rodriguez, General Manager for Ads Safety at Google, these technological enhancements mark a major step forward in proactive threat prevention.
“We launched over 50 enhancements to our AI models in 2024,” Rodriguez said.
“These improvements helped us move faster, identify threats earlier, and take action before bad actors could reach users. That’s the real power of AI making the internet safer not just reactively, but proactively.”
The report’s findings come at a pivotal moment, especially for regions like Africa, where digital spaces are rapidly expanding and online trust is crucial for economic growth.
In Kenya and across the continent, small businesses, digital creators, and everyday users depend on a secure online environment not just to communicate, but to earn a living.
Google’s AI-driven approach was supported by policy changes and human expertise.
The company updated its misrepresentation policy in 2024 and assembled a global team of more than 100 specialists to tackle bad actors.
As a result, it removed over 700,000 scam-related advertiser accounts, contributing to a 90 percent drop in reported impersonation scams.
With nearly half the world’s population going to the polls in 2024, the report also highlights efforts to secure election-related advertising.
Google expanded its political ad transparency policies, requiring advertisers to verify their identities and disclose funding sources.
