As we move further into the digital age, technology is increasingly playing a vital role in the advertising world. However, advancements in technology have also brought along with it, a multitude of challenges. One of the most significant threats being ad fraud. Ad fraud occurs when fraudsters intercept digital advertising data, and use technology to mimic human traffic on ads for personal gain. According to a study, ad fraud will cost advertisers $42 billion in 2019 alone. Studies like these make it apparent that programmatic advertising isn’t as safe as previously assumed. Artificial Intelligence is the answer to this problem but also happens to be its entry point. In this article, we will explore AI and programmatic ad fraud, the challenges it poses, and how we can overcome these risks.

🤔 What is Programmatic Ad Fraud?

Programmatic advertising entails using artificially intelligent automated systems to place ads across digital platforms. The concept of programmatic advertising is a vast, complex process that makes it highly vulnerable to fraudsters. Ad fraud is often perpetrated using bots, which emulate human user behavior on ads. It’s especially problematic considering the recent trend of purchasing advertising through programmatic channels. Ad fraud exploits this process, by working like bot systems, creating false impressions and exploiting technology to exploit digitalized ads.

An image showing different types of ad fraud

🚨 What Are The Risks of Programmatic Ad Fraud?

Ad fraud has grown to be a severe problem due to the advanced technology utilized in today’s digital advertising, and the increasing sophistication that fraudsters have gained. The risks of programmatic ad fraud go beyond the financial loss, with fake bots and ads having an impact on click-through rates, user engagement, and SEO, among others. A few risks of programmatic ad fraud include:

  • Loss of revenue for businesses
  • Advertisers struggle to verify campaign performance
  • Advertisers pay for bot traffic
  • Misuse of Creative assets
  • A decline in brand equity

But how can we overcome these risks?

🛡️ How Can AI Help Fight Ad Fraud?

AI Is an essential part of Programmatic Advertising, and it also happens to be the tool to fight ad fraud, making it more secure and less susceptible to fraudsters. The following are some ways AI can help fight ad fraud:

1. Data Analysis AI can analyze vast amounts of data obtained from online interactions, search engine rankings, and keywords to detect ad fraud. With this, AI can sift through mountains of data, looking for anomalies such as IP addresses, drop-offs, and unusual clicks, allowing companies to identify any inaccuracies or anomalies.

2. Learning Algorithms AI-enabled learning algorithms can monitor and learn behaviors that are not usually human, detecting potential fraudulent behavior by flagging fake content.

3. Deploying Real-Time Authentication Tools Those who authorize data sharing can significantly reduce fraud using AI by deploying authentication tools that look at the campaigns being published. Real-time analytics platforms usually accompany these tools, analyzing behavioral changes and any suspicious patterns in ad traffic.

AI monitoring data to identify ad fraud

🌟 Best Practices to Combat Ad Fraud

The following are best practices to combat ad fraud:

1. Audit Internal Ad Data Regular internal audits can help detect any abnormal patterns and ensure the industry’s best continuing practices, providing insight into where fraud may exist, and exploring potential issues.

2. Partner with a third party Conducting your advertising using an advertiser with trust and a record of partnership is a significant step to avoiding fraudulent activity. The network will ensure that their partner publishers take all of the needed measures to avoid fraudulent activities.

3. Establishing criteria to verify publisher labels At the beginning of any partnership, the network needs to establish their policies and ensure that the publisher’s stance on ad fraud correlates with theirs.

Best practices for combating ad fraud

🌐 Conclusion

In summary, AI has the potential to combat ad fraud in a way that human effort can’t accomplish alone. Artificial Intelligence can monitor billions of ad traffic and identify patterns that human observation would typically miss. Ad fraud is a real issue for advertisers, and with changing technology methods, its ability to evolve continually only makes it necessary for businesses to prepare fully. Ad fraud has implications far beyond the financial aspects of it, leading to loss of trust from consumers and damages on the brand. Fortunately, Programmatic Advertising and AI offer solutions that can keep advertisers safe from potential ad exploitation.

👋 Till Next Time!

An image showing the importance of protecting ad revenue