Google confirms arrival of Chrome browser ad blocker in 2018

GoogleGoogle has revealed that it will introduce an ad blocker to its Chrome browser next year, following reports back in April that the company was working on implementing one.

The ad blocker will act as more of a filter in that it will only block ads that don’t adhere to the standards laid out by the Coalition for Better Ads, which Google is a member of.  

“We believe online ads should be better. That’s why we joined the Coalition for Better Ads, an industry group dedicated to improving online ads. The group’s recently announced Better Ads Standards provide clear, public, data-driven guidance for how the industry can improve ads for consumers,” said Sridhar Ramaswamy, senior vice president of ads & commerce at Google.

“In dialogue with the Coalition and other industry groups, we plan to have Chrome stop showing ads (including those owned or served by Google) on websites that are not compliant with the Better Ads Standards starting in early 2018,”

In addition to the planned introduction of an ad blocker, Google has introduced a new Ad Experience Report to help publishers better understand how the standards apply to their websites. Furthermore, Google will give publishers the chance to show a customised message to visitors using an ad blocker which invites users to either enable on the site, or pay for access and the removal of all ads. Funding Choices is currently available in beta to publishers in North America, the UK, Germany, Australia and New Zealand.