Why is Google still serving dodgy ads?
Article URL: https://www.atomic14.com/2026/09/13/why-is-google-still-serving-dodgy-ads Comments URL: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49686445 Points: 212 # Comments: 96
Google's ad system is still serving questionable ads, despite having advanced AI tools that could detect such content. This raises questions about the effectiveness of Google's current review process. The source material discusses a specific ad that the writer noticed while using YouTube. The ad was clicked by accident, leading the writer to report it multiple times, but Google's response was unsatisfactory.
The ad didn't violate Google's policies, according to the company's response, which states that the ad complies with their regulations prohibiting harmful content and practices.
However, the writer questions whether Google has a vested interest in keeping these ads running, as they appear to be performing well. The source suggests that the issue might be due to a lack of proper review, as it's unlikely that Google's human reviewers can check every single ad for compliance. The writer then points out that Google's own AI model, Gemini, was able to disapprove the ad instantly, yet the company's review process approved it twice.
This discrepancy leads the writer to ask why Google isn't utilizing its AI capabilities more effectively to weed out deceptive ads.
Written by urgent.news from Hacker News Best's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
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- Why is Google still serving dodgy ads? atomic14.com
