Google says Gemini blocked 8.3 billion ads in 2025

Google has published its latest Ads Safety Report, saying it blocked or removed 8.3 billion ads worldwide and suspended 24.9 million advertiser accounts in 2025.

The figures include 602 million ads and 4 million accounts linked to scams. In Canada, Google blocked or removed 540 million ads and suspended 69,000 advertiser accounts.

The report outlines how Google is using its Gemini artificial intelligence models in ad safety systems as online fraud and misleading promotions grow more complex. Its systems caught more than 99% of policy-violating ads before they were shown to users.

According to Google, newer models assess hundreds of billions of signals, including account age, behavioural cues and campaign patterns. This shift has improved its ability to identify intent in advertising content rather than relying mainly on keyword-based detection.

AI screening

The approach is intended to stop harmful material before it reaches users and to identify attempts to bypass automated checks. Google also noted that generative AI has made it easier for bad actors to produce deceptive ads at scale, increasing pressure on ad platforms to respond more quickly.

Within its advertising business, most Responsive Search Ads created in Google Ads were being reviewed instantly by the end of last year, with harmful content blocked at the point of submission. Google said it plans to extend that approach to more ad formats.

AI tools also helped the company process user feedback more quickly. Its teams acted on more than four times as many user reports in 2025 as in the previous year, allowing staff to focus on cases that required human judgement.

Another theme in the report is balancing enforcement with the need to avoid errors that affect legitimate advertisers. Google said improved analysis beyond text and image patterns helped reduce incorrect advertiser suspensions by 80% last year.

That matters because online ad enforcement systems face scrutiny not only for the scams they miss, but also for the businesses they wrongly penalise. Large digital platforms are under growing pressure from regulators and consumers to show they can curb fraud, impersonation and misleading financial promotions without shutting out lawful advertisers.

Verification layer

Advertiser verification remains an important part of that system. By checking identities before advertisers can operate at scale, Google says it adds another layer of prevention alongside automated detection.

The Canada figures offer a local measure of that work. Blocking or removing 540 million ads and suspending 69,000 advertiser accounts suggests enforcement activity remains high even in markets far smaller than the United States.

Google did not break out Canadian figures for scam-related ads and accounts in the material released, but the global total underlines how large a share of ad safety work fraud still represents. Scam advertising has become a particular concern for technology groups, financial institutions and telecoms providers as criminals increasingly use impersonation, fake endorsements and fabricated offers to lure victims.

Keerat Sharma, Vice President & General Manager, Ads Privacy and Safety at Google, said: "Our safety teams work around the clock to stop bad actors that use increasingly sophisticated, malicious ads. In 2025, Gemini-powered tools dramatically improved our ability to detect and stop bad ads: Our systems caught over 99% of policy-violating ads before they ever served, and we're continuing to evolve our defenses to stay ahead of even the most advanced schemes."

Sharma also described how Google sees the role of its latest models in reducing harm while limiting disruption to legitimate advertisers. "By analyzing beyond images and text patterns, Gemini can better distinguish between a credible offer and an intricate lure - a level of nuance that helped us reduce incorrect advertiser suspensions by 80% last year. This accuracy allows us to focus on two things in tandem: prioritizing the removal of harmful content while helping honest businesses keep their ads running," Sharma said.