How Google Ads detects violations and blocks accounts: official explanation

In March 2025, Google clarified the Google Ads review process, describing how artificial intelligence and manual moderation identify violations, how ads are rejected, and how accounts are blocked.

The Company requires advertisers to comply with laws, regulations, and internal policies. If they do not comply, ads can be blocked and accounts can be suspended or deleted. Let’s take a look at the steps Google takes to enforce these requirements.

Finding Google Ads Policy Violations

A combination of Google’s AI and manual moderation is used to find violations. The AI-based technology is trained on moderators’ decisions.

Content that violates the rules is blocked by automated systems. If AI is unable to accurately evaluate the content, for example, because it needs to consider the context of the ad and account, it passes it on to trained moderators and analysts for detailed checks. The results of the manual checks are used to further refine the machine learning algorithms.

The following data is analyzed to identify potential violations:

• ad, site and account content,
• user complaints,
• consumer reviews,
• regulatory alerts,
• third-party sources.

Actions Taken

The Clarification lists the following enforcement actions to ensure compliance with policies and laws faced by advertisers and arbitrageurs working with Google Ads.

Ad Rejection

Ads that do not comply with Google Ads policies are rejected and not shown until the violation is corrected and the ad is re-verified.

• Learn more about the elimination of ad violations on the Google Guide: https://support.google.com/adspolicy/answer/9338593

Ads Admission

Some ads (such as those related to alcohol, gambling, or medicine) do not violate Google Ads, but may only be shown in certain countries or with restrictions due to limitations. In such cases, they are given the status “Allowed (restricted for all locations)”.

• Learn more about ad admission on the Google Guide: https://support.google.com/google-ads/answer/9127662

Account blocking

In case of a serious violation (e.g. fraud), the account will be blocked immediately, without warning. Google defines a violation as severe when the advertiser’s business does not generally comply with Google Ads rules or the violation puts users at risk.

If an account is blocked, all ad impressions are stopped, and new and related accounts (e.g., with the same payment information) are also blocked automatically.

For non-serious violations, a warning and remedial instructions will be sent first (at least 7 days before the blocking), and then a final blocking may take place.

Google Ads issues warnings for repeated violations. With each new warning, the consequences become more severe, up to and including the blocking of the account. You can receive a maximum of three warnings per rule.

• For more information about actions for repeat violations: https://support.google.com/adspolicy/answer/10922738

Disabling remarketing lists

Audience lists that violate the personalized advertising rules are disabled and will no longer work.

• Rules about personalized advertising: https://support.google.com/adwordspolicy/answer/143465

Compliance Checks

Google may at any time check advertisers using email lists for compliance with the rules and request additional information.

• Email list policy: https://support.google.com/adwordspolicy/answer/6299717

How to correct violations

A separate page on Google’s guide provides resources to help you understand why you’re blocked and correct violations: https://support.google.com/adspolicy/topic/1308266?hl=ru

• Google Clarification: https://support.google.com/adspolicy/answer/7187501