The news: Google announced an expanded use of AI to combat invalid ad traffic in a bid to help advertisers preserve budgets and maintain trust, per a recent blog post.

Though Google has previously used AI to prevent invalid traffic (IVT), the company has updated its “industry-leading defenses powered by large language models,” with the goal of better analyzing ad placements, suspicious user interactions, and app and web content.

Google stated that the new applications have already offered a 40% reduction in IVT coming from disruptive or deceptive ad serving practices, allowing advertisers to reach target audiences while reducing policy violators from Google.

The IVT problem: IVT presents major challenges for advertisers worldwide.

• IVT leads to wasted ad spend. When advertisers pay for impressions or clicks that are generated by bots or fraudulent activities instead of genuine human interactions, their ad budgets do not effectively reach their intended audience.
• Beyond financial losses, IVT impacts the accuracy of campaign performance data, making it more difficult for advertisers to accurately assess the effectiveness of their marketing efforts.
• IVT can undermine trust in digital advertising platforms—necessitating increased spending on fraud detection and prevention measures to protect ad investments.

A benefit for Google: Beyond helping advertisers, tightening IVT detection measures stands to benefit Google’s search dominance as advertiser concerns mount.

As Google gears up for a wide release of ads in AI Mode, brands are already grappling with concerns over Google’s lacking brand safety measures and the possibility that the company could be forced to divest Chrome amid regulatory threats. Combined with lingering transparency concerns over Google’s ad products, advertisers are increasingly interested in competing offerings.

Our take: By taking concrete steps to reduce IVT and address transparency concerns, Google may begin to rebuild trust with advertisers. This shift could move advertisers from reluctantly relying on Google for its search dominance to feeling confident and satisfied with their investment as ad fraud escalates across platforms.

Strong IVT safeguards could reposition Google from a default ad buy to being viewed as an industry benchmark for trust and quality, potentially reshaping industry norms around anti-fraud measures while building Google’s credibility in the AI market for advertisers.