Google is making Gemini a core part of ad enforcement, saying the AI upgrade helped catch more scams while sharply reducing mistaken suspensions of legitimate advertisers. The move shows how quickly ad safety is turning into an AI fight over speed, scale, and accuracy.

The details. In its 2025 Ads Safety Report, Google said it blocked or removed 8.3 billion ads and suspended 24.9 million advertiser accounts last year. It said more than 99% of policy-violating ads were stopped before they ran.

  • Google credited Gemini with cutting incorrect advertiser suspensions by 80%, processing 4x more user reports than the year before, and spotting scam signals faster by better understanding ad intent.
  • Scams were a major focus. Google said it removed 602 million scam-related ads and suspended 4 million scam-linked accounts.
AI Detection 1AI Detection 1

By the numbers:

  • 602 million scam-related ads removed
  • 4 million scam-linked accounts suspended
  • 4.8 billion ads restricted
  • 480 million web pages blocked or restricted
  • 245,000+ publisher sites actioned
  • 35 policy updates made in 2025
Google Ad Safety NumbersGoogle Ad Safety Numbers

The U.S. picture: Google said it removed 1.7 billion ads and suspended 3.3 million advertiser accounts in the U.S. in 2025. The most common violations included abuse of the ad network, misrepresentation, sexual content, personalization violations, and dating and companionship ads.

Policy VioilationsPolicy Vioilations

Why we care. This directly affects whether campaigns launch, stay live, or get flagged. Google is signaling that AI will play a bigger role in deciding which ads run and which accounts get stopped. For advertisers, that raises the stakes on policy compliance while also promising fewer costly false suspensions.

How it works: Google said Gemini analyzes hundreds of billions of signals, including account age, behavior patterns, and campaign activity, to detect malicious intent earlier than older systems built more heavily around keywords and rule matching.

The company also said that by the end of 2025, most Responsive Search Ads would be reviewed instantly at submission, blocking harmful ads before launch. It plans to expand that capability to more formats this year.

Yes, but. Faster automated enforcement does not always mean smoother enforcement. Some advertisers in the U.K. and U.S. have recently reported bulk ad disapproval alerts despite finding no actual policy issues. That adds pressure on Google to prove tighter AI enforcement will not create new disruptions for legitimate brands.

Bottom line: Google wants advertisers to see Gemini as both shield and filter — tougher on scams, but more precise with legitimate accounts. The real test is whether that balance holds as enforcement gets faster and more automated.

Google’s blog post. Gemini is stopping harmful ads before people ever see them


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Anu AdegbolaAnu Adegbola

Anu Adegbola has been Paid Media Editor of Search Engine Land since 2024. She covers paid search, paid social, retail media, video and more.

In 2008, Anu started her career delivering digital marketing campaigns (mostly but not exclusively Paid Search) by building strategies, maximising ROI, automating repetitive processes and bringing efficiency from every part of marketing departments through inspiring leadership both on agency, client and marketing tech side. Outside editing Search Engine Land article she is the founder of PPC networking event – PPC Live and host of weekly podcast PPC Live The Podcast.

She is also an international speaker with some of the stages she has presented on being SMX (US, UK, Munich, Berlin), Friends of Search (Amsterdam, NL), brightonSEO, The Marketing Meetup, HeroConf (PPC Hero), SearchLove, BiddableWorld, SESLondon, PPC Chat Live, AdWorld Experience (Bologna, IT) and more.