• by Laurie Sullivan  @lauriesullivan, February 13, 2025

Google has announced the technique of using AI to determine a user’s age. The move could help the company assist brands to determine age-appropriate products and whether or not advertisements can be targeted to a specific audience.

The AI automation that detects someone’s age will be used across Google products. It is estimated that Google has billions of users across its properties who are under the age of 18.

“We’ve taken many important steps to provide age-appropriate experiences to kids and teens across our products, including a number of changes for all users under 18,” Jen Fitzpatrick, senior vice president, Core Systems & Experiences at Google, wrote in a blog post.

The Core unit is responsible for building the technical foundation behind Google’s products and for protecting users' online safety. 

Demographic targeting in Google Ads is not new, but knowing a person’s age could help to reach a specific set of potential customers who are likely to be within a particular age range, gender, parental status, or household income.

When considering an ad for minors, Google’s Ad-serving Protections for Teens policy implements additional safeguards. On Google Accounts of people who are above the digital age of consent but under 18, the company disables ad personalization and restricts sensitive ad categories.

Google "typically defaults to SafeSearch filters that restrict sensitive ad content,” she explained, referring to age-restricted content on YouTube & Play. 

It also incorporates teen protections on YouTube and ads safeguards in its GAI experiences.

Sensitive content warnings updated in October 2024 will now roll out in Google Messages, an opt-in feature for adults that can be managed in Android Settings. It is an opt-out feature for users under 18.