Last year, we placed a small [X] mute control button in the top right hand corner of most of our Display ads which gives users the ability to control ads they no longer wish to see. To date, users have muted millions of ads and we have used these signals to make ads more relevant and useful.

Over the next few weeks, we’ll be expanding the ways users can give us feedback about ads by introducing a series of short surveys in English-speaking countries which will appear after an ad is muted.

Here’s one example:
These surveys will help us understand why users mute ads, serve better ads to users, spot publishers and advertisers in violation of Google’s policies, and help improve ad and placement quality for the broader advertising ecosystem.

Investing in ad controls with tools like Ads Settings and Mute This Ad enables us to deliver better experiences for users and better results for advertisers and publishers.

Posted by Michael Aiello, Product Manager