Software developer Chris Greening has raised questions about Google's advertising review process after encountering deceptive advertisements on YouTube. Greening reported an ad that mimicked an iPhone system warning about insufficient storage, which he had accidentally clicked. Despite Google's policies prohibiting deceptive designs that trick users into believing an ad is a system alert or a functional UI element, Google's response was that the ad did not violate its policies.
Google's Advertising Review Struggles to Catch Deceptive Ads Despite Gemini's Capability
Greening noted that while Google uses Gemini to assist in its advertising safety efforts—reporting that Gemini-powered processes have handled four times more user reports than the previous year—the automated review failed to catch the deceptive content. When Greening tested the ad itself using Gemini, the AI identified it as a policy violation for misleading ad design.
Google stated in its 2025 advertising safety report that it uses Gemini to increase efficiency in processing user reports and detecting fraudulent ads. However, the disconnect between the AI's ability to identify deceptive content and the actual removal of such ads has led to criticisms that the current human-led or hybrid review process is insufficient.
Sources
- Googleは自社製高性能AIで怪しい広告をブロックできるはずなのに一体なぜ配信し続けているのか？ （GIGAZINE, 2026-09-16）
- atomic14