Google emailed advertisers and publishers yesterday that they will begin using machine learning to estimate the age of signed-in users in the United States to "protect young people as they use Google products." This means Google will disable ad personalization and disallow sensitive creative categories from serving for users under 18.
Google announced this earlier this year but will begin now deploying this change to a "small set of users in the U.S." over the "next few weeks."
Google wrote more about how this all works but the email Google sent to advertisers reads:
As previously announced, Google will begin using machine learning to estimate the age of signed-in users in the United States. Over the next few weeks, we’ll begin to roll out this update to a small set of users in the U.S. to help us further protect young people as they use Google products. We’ll closely monitor this before we roll it out more widely.
For our publisher ad products, when our machine learning model flags a Google signed-in user as likely under 18, they will be provided additional ad safeguards. This includes:
- Disabling ads personalization
- Disallowing sensitive creative categories from serving
In 2021, Google did make changes for children and Google Ads personalization but now Google will use machine learning to figure out the ages of its users.
Here is how Google does this, they said through a "combination of age estimation and, when necessary, age verification."
- Age estimation: Our age estimation model uses machine learning to interpret a variety of signals already associated with a user's account, such as the types of information a user has searched for or the categories of videos they've watched on YouTube. These signals help us determine whether a user is likely over or under the age of 18.
- Age verification: If we incorrectly estimate a user to be under 18, the user has the option to correct their age, including by uploading a photo of their government ID or a selfie.
I got this email and so did many advertisers:
here comes the policy violations
— Drew Cannon (@Dcdigitalpro) July 30, 2025
flags. @GoogleAds and publishers
This should get interesting #ppcchat pic.twitter.com/PmxDOuTtX6
Forum discussion at X.
