Aug 26, 2023

YouTube Ad Requirements – Automated Content Policy Decision

I keep getting this policy in my ads, i have read it over and over my ads are not violating the Automated content policy decision. This is frustrating and delaying my progress! it's been going on for a month now, how do i resolve this? The support team are not helpful and don't even seem to understand the policy themselves.

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Ad approval and policy

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All Replies (4)

Hobie Thompson

Silver Product Expert

Digital Marketing & Lead Gen Expert

Aug 28, 2023

"Automated Content Policy Decision" isn't a policy itself - it's just Google letting you know that it uses AI tools to make policy decisions ("we may conduct automated reviews of your campaign content. This preliminary review may trigger restriction or suspension of the assets")

Please carefully read all of the YouTube ad requirements here: https://support.google.com/adspolicy/answer/10249050?hl=en

A lot of these are easy to miss and my guess is that the video you're trying to use likely violates one of these requirements, even if it's one of the milder ones.

Celebird

Diamond Product Expert

Oct 31, 2023

the policy-systems, and policy-teams, tend
to check for random issues at random times.

having the policy-flagged inconsistently, such as two halves of a video,
eligible independently, but when put together they are hit by the policy,
will likely not be considered by the policy-teams.

as was indicated, in most cases, the flagged video must be changed, and
the entire channel checked and edited with respect to any similar issues --
regardless of being flagged yet or not -- otherwise the policy-flags will
likely continue to be triggered, effectively randomly, over and over again.

Blanca de la Fuente

Nov 1, 2023

Hello Celebird,

Thanks for your response. What do you mean by fixing all the videos in my “channel”? Is that the YouTube channel where my videos are posted or my Google ads account and all the campaigns, ad groups?

Thanks

Celebird

Diamond Product Expert

Sep 25, 2023

with respect to, automated content-policy decisions --
indicates that either the video, or the channel, or both,
must be changed, or advertising will continue to be blocked.

the issue typically relates to an image or sound that must be removed.

for example, any visual or audio segment that:
- contains any claim;
- is considered spam;
- is considered deceptive;
- is unclear, shaky, or too loud;
- any sound or image that does not comply with a youtube policy;
- is rambling, without clearly indicating exactly what is being sold;
- is considered irrelevant when compared to the selected target audience;
- contains a detail that may offend any google user, anyplace in the world;

generally, the policy-teams will not indicate exactly what may be
triggering the policy-flag, nor exactly what to change, by design --
such information should not be expected.

only after making what seems to be the appropriate
sound/video/channel/ad changes, then edit/resubmit
the video/ad.

posting the specific channel url and video url, may
sometimes help allow other community-members
to offer more specific suggestions or possibilities.

however, some types of video-ads/channels simply cannot be promoted.

Last edited Sep 25, 2023

Celebird

Diamond Product Expert

Oct 24, 2023

yes, generally the entire channel and any related

business must conform to all advertising policies.

Blanca de la Fuente

Nov 1, 2023

Hi Celebird,

I see my answer above responded here. Ok, I see that you mean all the videos in my YouTube Channel. Since I really don’t know what part of my ads is being hit by the policy (since the first and second half of my ad are Eligible but not the total ad together), shall I just erase ALL the ads in my channel?

The question is, I really don’t know what I should change, because split-testing is not working.

What would you advise in this case?

Thanks for your guidance

Celebird

Diamond Product Expert

Sep 26, 2023

first, you're welcome.

the change likely began to be introduced earlier this month --
after the policy-manager and per-ad-format policies were updated.

under status, check for any review-the-policy links,
for potential specifics, such as claims, events, etc.

sometimes, customer-support may offer an example of
what may be triggering the policy-flag -- simply ask
customer-support for a few examples of what may be
causing the issue; a response may take a few weeks.

if a violation has no practical fix, such as for certain types of businesses, or

business-models, related to a video or channel, no specifics may be offered,

and the status will simply remain.

Last edited Sep 26, 2023

Aline Borsatto

Sep 26, 2023

awesome, great tips - I'll do so.

In one case support did give me a hint about the possible reason, but they are incredibly slow (over 10 days). Anyway, I guess that's the way as of today.

Thank you very much

samuele mineo

Nov 1, 2023

Hello,

Have you found a solution to the issue I've been facing repeatedly? I've tried reaching out to the support team, but their responses have only left me more confused. If you or anyone else has an answer, please don't hesitate to reply. I truly need assistance.

Thank you.

Blanca de la Fuente

Nov 1, 2023

Hello Community,

First of all, thanks to all your comments and tips. I'm in the healthcare niche and it's extremely difficult to pin-point the word or image that is causing the policy to kick-in. As mentioned above by Celebird, the fact that the policy is random and the checks are random makes it even harder to understand.

From what I'm seeing, cleaning up your YouTube channel and just focussin on one single video until you locate the exact word image is a possible approach to overcome this policy challenge.

Question for the Community: does the country your account is based in have an influence in the policy being more restrictive? I see other people in my niche using the same words and images and their ads are running and not being hit by the policy. I'm located in Dubai. Any thoughts on this?

samuele mineo

Nov 2, 2023

i actually have the same problem...and this drive me nuts