Google is continuing to lean heavily on AI in its products, using it to protect Android, Chrome, and Search users from scams.

In a blog post, Google’s Jasika Bawa and Phiroze Parakh point out that the company has been using AI to help protect users for more than a decade. With recent advancements in the field, however, the company is able to use AI in all new ways.

Search

Online search is one of the main ways users are exposed to scam attempts. Whether it be spoofed addresses, malicious popups, or fake listings, scammers have become very adept at using search engines to dupe users.

According to the post, Google is now detecting and blocking “hundreds of millions of scammy results every day.”

Advancements in AI have bolstered our scam-fighting technologies — enabling us to analyze vast quantities of text on the web, identify coordinated scam campaigns and detect emerging threats — staying one step ahead to keep you safe on Search. For example, we’ve observed a significant increase in bad actors on the web impersonating airline customer service providers and scamming people in need of help. We’ve already reduced these scams by more than 80% in Search, greatly reducing the risk that you call a scammy phone number.

In its Fighting Scams in Search report, highlight a couple of the ways that today’s advanced AI models are assisting the company’s efforts.

For example, our systems are able to identify interconnected networks of deceptive websites that might appear legitimate in isolation. This deeper understanding of the nuances and trends within the scam ecosystem allows for the development of more targeted and effective detection mechanisms, providing a crucial edge in this ongoing battle.

Large language models have also helped us to scale our protections across languages to protect more people around the world. We know that scammers operate around the world and in every language – so it’s important that we have protections in place for people using search no matter the language they’re using. Whether we identify a scam in English, Hindi, German, Spanish, or another language, LLMs have allowed us to train our systems to catch those scams in multiple other languages as well thus limiting user exposure to scams globally.

Google Chrome

Google Chrome is the world’s most popular web browser by a very large margin, making it a prime target for scammers and other bad actors. The company is leveraging AI to improve Google’s Safe Browsing feature, to better protect users.

We’re now using Gemini Nano, our on-device large language model (LLM) on desktop, to provide Enhanced Protection users with an additional layer of defense against online scams. The on-device approach provides instant insight on risky websites and allows us to offer protection, even against scams that haven’t been seen before. Gemini Nano’s LLM is perfect for this use because of its ability to distill the varied, complex nature of websites, helping us adapt to new scam tactics more quickly.

Website Notifications

Similarly, Google is using AI to protect users from scammy website notifications. Most browsers allow websites to ask the user if they can display notifications. This can be a useful feature to alert the user to new content, new messages, and the like.

Unfortunately, like anything on the web, notifications can be abused in an effort to scam users. To combat that, Google has rolled out new AI-powered tools to combat the issue.

When Chrome’s on-device machine learning model flags a notification, you’ll receive a warning with the option to either unsubscribe or view the content that was blocked. And if you decide the warning was shown incorrectly, you can choose to allow future notifications from that website.

Android

Phone calls and text messages continue to be one of the more annoying vectors for scammers. In fact, adults are estimated to receive 3.7 scam calls and 1.5 scam texts every day.

Google has launched new AI-powered features to fight such scams.

Scams are commonly being initiated through phone calls and text messages that appear harmless at first, but then evolve into dangerous situations. We recently launched on-device AI-powered Scam Detection in Google Messages and Phone by Google to protect Android users from these types of sophisticated scams.

In another post, the company goes into more detail about how the new features work.

Scam Detection in Google Messages

Scam Detection in Google Messages uses powerful Google AI to proactively address conversational scams by providing real-time detection even after initial messages are received. When the on-device AI detects a suspicious pattern in SMS, MMS, and RCS messages, users will now get a message warning of a likely scam with an option to dismiss or report and block the sender.

As part of the Spam Protection setting, Scam Detection on Google Messages is on by default and only applies to conversations with non-contacts. Your privacy is protected with Scam Detection in Google Messages, with all message processing remaining on-device. Your conversations remain private to you; if you choose to report a conversation to help reduce widespread spam, only sender details and recent messages with that sender are shared with Google and carriers. You can turn off Spam Protection, which includes Scam Detection, in your Google Messages at any time.

Scam Detection in Calls

We use AI models processed on-device to analyze conversations in real-time and warn users of potential scams. If a caller, for example, tries to get you to provide payment via gift cards to complete a delivery, Scam Detection will alert you through audio and haptic notifications and display a warning on your phone that the call may be a scam.

During our limited beta, we analyzed calls with Gemini Nano, Google’s built-in, on-device foundation model, on Pixel 9 devices and used smaller, robust on-device machine-learning models for Pixel 6+ users. Our testing showed that Gemini Nano outperformed other models, so as a result, we’re currently expanding the availability of the beta to bring the most capable Scam Detection to all English-speaking Pixel 9+ users in the U.S.

Similar to Scam Detection in messaging, we built this feature to protect your privacy by processing everything on-device. Call audio is processed ephemerally and no conversation audio or transcription is recorded, stored on the device, or sent to Google or third parties. Scam Detection in Phone by Google is off by default to give users control over this feature, as phone call audio is more ephemeral compared to messages, which are stored on devices. Scam Detection only applies to calls that could potentially be scams, and is never used during calls with your contacts. If enabled, Scam Detection will beep at the start and during the call to notify participants the feature is on. You can turn off Scam Detection at any time, during an individual call or for all future calls.

Google’s Timing Is Likely Intentional

There’s no doubt that Google works hard to protect users from online scams and cyberattacks, and has a solid track record doing so.

At the same time, however, it is more than a little interesting that the company authored a blog post highlighting its efforts in Search, Chrome, and Android around the time that the remedies portion of its antitrust case is wrapping up.

The DOJ wants to force Google to sell of Chrome, and wants the right to force it to sell of Android if it deems it necessary, all in an effort to address the company’s Search monopoly.

For its part, Google has made the case that it is in a unique position to offer users the best protections, especially with its Chrome browser. In fact, it has stated that no other company would be able to match the investments it makes or the success it has had in keeping Chrome secure.

This point was addressed by none other than CEO Sundar Pichai himself during the remedies arguments, when a DOJ lawyer questioned whether Pichai was qualified to speak on the subject.

“Given my deep knowledge of the space and a general understanding of what other companies’ capabilities and commitments are around web security, I do think I’m able to speak on it,” Pichai replied.

With the future of Google’s ecosystem at stake, it’s not surprising the company has authored a blog post touting the advanced technologies it is using to protect the very services under threat by its court case.