• by Laurie Sullivan  @lauriesullivan, November 2, 2023

Marketers now have ways to exclude topics when advertising on YouTube and across the Google Display Network.

The feature, Excluded Themes, increases the accuracy to focus on the nuances of eliminating topics.

Danielle Wolinsky, Google’s Global Lead for Advertiser Trust and responsibility, on Thursday presented the options at The Brand Safety Summit and published in a blog post.

The idea is to remove potentially harmful information, she said, adding: “AI powered technology is essential is to uphold our responsibility.” AI detects content that a certain age group should not view or content that should not be monetized.

The focus is on the removal of violent content, raising authoritative voices, rewarding trusted creators, and reducing the spread of potentially harmful and violent information.

Wolinsky spoke about the ability to exclude themes as one of the safeguards for brands on YouTube. This means filtering out themes on YouTube and the Google Display Network that don’t fit the brand’s focus.

These filters offer more accuracy and clarity when removing specific content types, which has become especially important as social networks and video platforms continue to be used to disseminate war propaganda.

YouTube’s AI technology can now spot patterns that help the platform to detect similar content that has previously been removed. It is also used to automatically identify and remove spam and content that has already violated YouTube’s rules. The same approach is applied to YouTube comments and ads as well.

The safety feature also estimates the impact on Google Ads, assessing the impact of settings on inventory, impressions, and costs -- and it is now accessible to all YouTube advertisers. You can use this tool to analyze how excluding certain content may affect ad reach and performance.

YouTube recently received content-level brand-safety accreditation from the Media Rating Council for the third year in a row following an extensive audit.

YouTube Now also offers expanded suitability inventory types to more areas like YouTube Shorts. These allow marketers to align their campaigns with specific content categories.

The recommended choice for most advertisers is the standard inventory, ensuring adherence to YouTube’s advertiser-friendly guidelines. Depending on an the brand, advertisers can opt for either limited or expanded inventory, giving them flexibility in reaching their target audience.