Google blocked or removed 5.1 billion ads, restricted 9.1 billion more, and suspended over 39 million advertiser accounts in 2024—most before a single ad was served, reflecting how AI models, powered by Gemini, are enabling faster and smarter detection of fraud signals such as stolen payment methods, fake business identities, or coordinated scam networks.
The disclosure was brought to fore recently as Google released its 2024 Ads Safety Report, showing how advanced artificial intelligence is transforming the fight against bad ads, scams, and misinformation online. The report also showed that as scams grow more sophisticated, often impersonating public figures or deploying AI-generated content—new tools are helping stop harmful ads before they ever reach people.
This shift toward proactive prevention comes at a critical time. Across Africa and beyond, users are navigating a rapidly evolving digital environment—where trust, safety, and transparency matter more than ever.
In Nigeria, public figure impersonation scams and misleading election ads have become familiar threats. That’s why in 2024, Google updated its Misrepresentation policy, assembled a global team of over 100 experts, and took down over 700,000 scam-related advertiser accounts—contributing to a 90 percent drop in reported impersonation scams.
With nearly half the world’s population heading to the polls in 2024, Google also expanded election ad transparency, requiring all political advertisers to verify their identities and clearly disclose who’s paying for the message. More than 10 million election-related ads were removed globally for failing to meet these standards.
While these are global figures, their local impact is deeply personal. From the business owner trying to reach new customers online to the everyday user trying to avoid a phishing scam, online safety remains essential for an open, trustworthy web. In Nigeria and across the continent, safe advertising also helps protect livelihoods—ensuring that small businesses, creators, and publishers can continue to benefit from a free and accessible internet.
“We launched over 50 enhancements to our AI models in 2024,” said Alex Rodriguez, General Manager for Ads Safety at Google. “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,” he added.
While challenges persist, the report emphasises that AI is improving both the speed and scale of enforcement—and freeing up human reviewers to focus on the most complex, high-impact investigations. Google also continues to work closely with regulators, consumer protection agencies, and industry peers, including through the Global Anti-Scam Alliance, to stay ahead of evolving threats.
