Market & Regulation
Google links AI personalization to ad targeting
The Verge AIhigh confidence
Why it matters
- →Google expands ad targeting scope by linking AI personalization features to user data usage.
- →Users must actively opt-out to prevent their personal files from influencing ad delivery.
- →The policy change shifts the default assumption for AI-assisted services toward ad-supported monetization.
Google has updated its privacy policy to permit personalized advertising based on user data from Gmail, Google Drive, and Google Photos when those services are linked via the 'Personal Intelligence' feature. The update, effective October 16th, states that allowing AI tools like Gemini Apps to access personal content for better recommendations also allows that data to be used for ad targeting. Advertisers do not receive direct access to raw files or personally identifying details, and sensitive categories such as health or religion are excluded from this targeting. Users can prevent this by disconnecting specific apps in Search Services Personalization settings or disabling Personalized Recommendations entirely.
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