Welcome to the 2026 WAGMI club...
6 people left yesterday.
Everyone's so scared of the "AI SLOP" label, yet they don't realize it's a quiet minority. To leave because I said I use AI when I write is assinine, I've been outsourcing these emails for over a decade.
There's literally no difference between teaching a human writer how to write like you and teaching an AI how to write like you (other than some weird form of virtue signaling).
My job isn't to press buttons, my job is to know what problems you have and provide you with solutions that ACTUALLY work.
I will continue to do that job, with or without AI.
Judge me on quality, accuracy, and relevancy, see how I do there because that's what I believe truly matters. That's where my servant heart lays.
6 left... and 10,706 stayed 🤷♂️
Be brave my friends.
Go forth and conquer with confidence. Let AI increase your speed, but make sure to keep your eye on quality & getting results, you'll be fine!
#2026WAGMIClub
Here's today's helpful tip...
These 3 Things Will Get Your Ad Account Banned Instantly
Google suspended 39 million advertiser accounts last year.
Before you go thinking Meta is any better, you should know they're just as bad. They just don't publish their numbers like Google does.
Just take a look at Reddit threads if you think Meta isn't dropping the ban hammer just s hard.
But here's the problem I want to address today...
Most of those accounts got banned before a single ad ever ran.
Google's AI is now catching people at setup. Before you even spend a dollar.
I've been running Google Ads since before it was called Google Ads (remember AdWords?). And in 20 years, I've never seen enforcement this aggressive.
Yes, I'm talking about Google, but there's a philosophy pro media buyers follow that says "Optimize for the strictest network." Which means if you optimize for Google ads, you'll likely be fine on all the others.
I've studied ad compliance for 20yrs, they're basically all the same minus a few rare platform specific differences.
Today I want to share 3 things that will get you instantly banned that almost nobody talks about. Plus a bonus one at the end that's killing ecommerce advertisers right now.
#1: The $0 Chargeback
This one makes me crazy because it's so easy to avoid.
Here's what happens: You see a charge from Google on your credit card. You don't recognize it. Maybe you think it's fraud. So you call your bank and dispute it.
Game over.
The moment that chargeback hits, Google suspends your account. No warning. No strike. No "hey, did you mean to do that?" Just... gone.
And it gets worse. Every account connected to you with the same payment method, same IP address, same manager account can get suspended too.
The fix is almost impossible because now you have to reverse the chargeback with your bank AND convince Google you're legitimate AND hope someone at Google actually reinstates you.
If you ever see a Google charge you don't recognize, contact Google support FIRST. Never go straight to your bank. That chargeback is a one-way ticket to ban city.
#2: The 30-Day Deadline Nobody Sees
Google sends you a verification request. It lands in your inbox. Maybe it goes to spam. Maybe you're busy. Maybe you think "I'll deal with that later."
30 days later, your account goes dark.
Here's the timeline nobody explains:
- Day 1: Verification notification arrives
- Day 30: Deadline to START the verification process
- Day 60: Deadline to COMPLETE verification
- Miss either deadline: Immediate account pause. No extensions.
But here's the real gut punch...
If you fail verification 3 times, you PERMANENTLY LOSE THE RIGHT to appeal. Forever. Three strikes on verification and that account is gone for good.
Most people fail because their business name doesn't match EXACTLY across their documents. Or their website URL is slightly different from what they submitted. Or they're missing contracts that prove third-party relationships.
When that verification email comes in, just handle it right away. This is not a "when I get around to it" situation.
#3: The 4-Word Return Policy
"Contact us for returns."
Those 4 words will get your Merchant Center account suspended.
I know, I know. You're thinking "but that's what a lot of sites say." Yep. And a lot of sites get banned (39 million of them).
Google's AI reads your return policy. And when it sees vague language like "contact us," it flags you for trying to hide your real policy from customers.
What Google wants to see:
- Specific timeline: "30 days from delivery"
- Conditions: "unused, with original tags attached"
- Who pays return shipping
- How and when you issue refunds
- What items can't be returned
And here's the trap within the trap: Your website policy has to match EXACTLY what you put in Merchant Center. Word for word. If there's any mismatch, you're flagged.
Go look at your return policy right now, before Google fixes it for you.
BONUS: The Bot That Can't Buy From You
This one's specifically for ecommerce folks, and it's brutal.
Google doesn't just review your ads. It tries to BUY from your website.
Their bot adds a product to cart and attempts to reach the payment page. If anything - and I mean ANYTHING - blocks that checkout flow, you get flagged.
Things that seem totally innocent that will kill you:
- Login required before checkout
- Pop-up that covers the Add to Cart button
- Multi-step email signup before you can buy
- Quote request instead of actual checkout
- Shipping only to certain countries
- Back button disabled during checkout
Here's the test: Open an incognito browser. Go to your site like you've never been there before. Try to get to the payment screen in under 60 seconds.
If YOU can't do it, Google's bot definitely can't.
And starting October 2025, Google's adding a "Dishonest Pricing Practices" policy. Hidden fees, bait-and-switch pricing, sneaky trial charges, they're all suspendable offenses now.
I didn't write all this to scare you.
I wrote it because I've seen too many good advertisers lose their accounts over stuff that's completely avoidable. And Google's not getting more lenient. They suspended 39 million accounts last year. That's a 208% increase from the year before.
The AI is getting smarter. The enforcement is getting faster. And the appeals process is getting harder.
The advertisers who survive are the ones who build compliance into their operations from day one. Not the ones scrambling to fix things after they get the suspension email.
You can't scale a banned account!
These are just 3-4 tips I pulled from the massive ultimate guide I just published to our new Adskills blog. If you want to master ad compliance (you should) then go read the full guide.