Google says it is 20 times better at catching scams in Google Search

Google said it is now able to catch 20 times the number of scammy pages within Google Search than it was previously. Google also said that it reduced the number of bad actors on the web impersonating airline customer service providers by more than 80% within Google Search.

Google credits its AI and improved classifiers for these changes.

The numbers. Google gave these two stats when it comes to improving the safety of the Google Search results:

• Google Search can “catch 20-times the number of scammy pages”
• Google Search has reduced fake phone number “scams by more than 80% in Search”

AI and classifier improvements. Google credits these improvements to its updates to its technology. Google said improvements to its “AI-powered scam detection systems — along with improvements to our classifiers,” has led to these better scam detection algorithms.

“Advancements in AI have bolstered our scam-fighting technologies — enabling us to analyze vast quantities of text on the web, identify coordinated scam campaigns and detect emerging threats — staying one step ahead to keep you safe on Search,” Google added.

Why we care. We often see complaints about searchers being scammed one way or another. Google, as it should, does take these seriously and is constantly working on ways to improve its techniques to block these efforts.

It is nice to hear these improvements are making a difference.