NEW DELHI — Tech giant Google has revealed that it removed 247.4 million ads and suspended 2.9 million advertiser accounts in India alone during 2024 due to violations of its ad policies. The figures are part of Google’s Annual Ads Safety Report, which outlines its efforts to combat scams, misleading ads, and policy violations across its global ad network.

Globally, the company took down over 5.1 billion ads, suspended 39.2 million advertiser accounts, and restricted another 9.1 billion ads that did not meet all of Google’s advertising standards.

🚨 Cracking Down on Online Scams

In the face of increasingly sophisticated scam tactics, including the misuse of AI-generated content, Google has strengthened its defenses. One of the key threats in 2024 was AI-generated impersonation ads, where scammers used the likeness of public figures to promote fake products or services.

To combat this, Google introduced more than 50 improvements to its large language models (LLMs), speeding up complex investigations and improving fraud detection at the account creation stage.

A dedicated global task force of over 100 professionals worked on refining policies, detecting suspicious behavior, and taking swift action—leading to the permanent suspension of more than 700,000 scam-related accounts.

🧠 Smarter Tools, Stronger Policies

The enhanced AI tools enabled Google to track and act on fraudulent activity more quickly and accurately. These improvements contributed to a 90% drop in reports of scam ads by the end of 2024, marking a significant win in online ad safety.

Google specifically called out violations related to:

• Financial scams and misleading offers

• Trademark infringement

• Circumventing ad systems (such as using deceptive practices to avoid detection)

• Abuse of personalized ads

• Gambling and gaming policy breaches

The company also updated its ad policies in 2024 to better address these violations, showing its commitment to maintaining a safer advertising ecosystem.

🇮🇳 Why India Matters

India remains a major market for digital advertising—and also a hotspot for ad abuse. With the suspension of 2.9 million advertiser accounts, Google is signaling its intent to keep the Indian ad landscape safe and trustworthy for both users and brands.

📉 The Bigger Picture

With ad fraud evolving rapidly, especially through the use of AI and automation, tech companies are under increasing pressure to stay ahead. Google’s latest numbers show it is investing heavily in both human expertise and machine learning to tackle these issues head-on.

The company emphasized that its goal is to ensure that users see relevant, safe, and trustworthy ads, while advertisers who follow the rules can operate fairly.

📌 Key Takeaways:

• Google removed 247.4 million ads in India and suspended 2.9 million advertiser accounts in 2024.

• Globally, the company removed 5.1 billion ads and suspended over 39 million accounts.

• Crackdown focused on scams, impersonation ads, financial fraud, and system abuse.

• AI tools and improved policies led to a 90% drop in scam ad reports.

• India continues to be a critical market in Google’s global ad safety strategy.