Remember the golden age of the internet, when Google was the benevolent overlord of content creators? Back then, all you needed to get a slice of the Adsense pie was a decent website. Nothing too flashy—just a clean design, a few informative articles, and maybe a quirky “About Us” page. Google would smile down on your humble efforts, nod approvingly, and invite you into their Adsense network. Life was good, the checks rolled in, and the system worked.
Fast forward to today, and it feels like we’ve been dumped for someone younger, shinier, and infinitely more robotic. Google doesn’t need you anymore. Why? Because they have AI.
The Good Old Days
Let’s rewind to a simpler time when Google and content creators were best buds. The process for joining Adsense was straightforward: build a decent site with engaging content, submit your application, and wait for the magic to happen. Sure, they had some rules, but these were guidelines meant to weed out spam and truly subpar sites. If you could string together a few coherent paragraphs and keep things semi-professional, you were in.
Back then, Google appreciated the effort. They knew that their success depended on yours. Adsense wasn’t just a business model; it was a partnership. You created content that attracted readers, and Google served ads that generated revenue. Everybody won.
But times have changed.
The Break-Up Letter
Here’s how it goes now: You painstakingly build a site, carefully curate your content, and submit your Adsense application. Days or weeks later, you receive an email from Google. Your heart skips a beat—this could be it! You open the message, only to find a cold, automated rejection:
“We found some policy violations. Make sure your site follows the AdSense Program Policies. After you’ve fixed the violation, you can request a review of your site.”
google adsnese does not your content anymore – a rejection review request
That’s it. No specifics, no helpful suggestions, just a vague reference to their sprawling policy document. It’s like applying for your dream job and being told, “We’re not interested, but we’re not going to tell you why. Figure it out yourself.”
And let me tell you, the policies aren’t exactly light reading. They’re a labyrinth of legal jargon and technical requirements, most of which boil down to “We’ll know it when we see it.”
Google Adsense: Where Logic Goes to Die and Automated Rejections Thrive
Here’s a personal anecdote that sums up the absolute circus act that is Google’s current approach to content creators. I decided to partner with a talented writer to produce some quality articles for one of my sites and allow to monetize them via her Adsense account. Sounds straightforward, right? I mean, this wasn’t some fly-by-night, cookie-cutter blog setup in a dark alley—it was a legitimate, polished site that had already been vetted and approved under another Adsense account. Surely, if it passed muster once, it’d be a breeze to get it approved again.
Oh, how naïve of me.
The writer dutifully submitted the site for review under her Adsense account, and she waited, fully expecting a smooth approval. After all, this wasn’t uncharted territory. A human reviewer had previously approved the site, and ads had actually been displayed on it. Piece of cake, right? Wrong. So, so wrong.
Instead of a cheerful “Congratulations!” email, she was hit with the dreaded rejection notice. No explanation, no constructive feedback—just a sterile copy-paste directing her to the vague abyss that is Google’s policy page. Lovely.
Naturally, she thought, Surely this is a mistake. Google’s just hiccuped, right? So, she resubmitted the application to Adsense. Another polite wait ensued, and… cue the same rejection. Word for word. The only difference was the time of the rejection? At this point, it felt less like a policy enforcement and more like a badly written episode of Black Mirror.
I mean, come on—how does a site pass Google’s scrutiny for one account, display ads successfully, and then suddenly get blacklisted for another? Is the site cursed now? Did Google hold a secret tribunal and decide it was too good for two accounts? The whole process reeks of a Kafkaesque nightmare with a touch of Silicon Valley’s detached indifference.
So, here we are: stuck in the loop of automated rejections, empty policy links, and zero human intervention. Maybe next time, we’ll need a séance to get Google’s blessing. Or better yet, an offering to the almighty algorithm gods.
The Rise of the Machines
While Google is busy rejecting human creators with actual talent and ideas, they’re pouring their energy into AI. Because why bother dealing with messy, unpredictable humans when you can have algorithms do all the work?
AI doesn’t complain. It doesn’t send passive-aggressive tweets about unfair rejections. It doesn’t ask for a revenue share or demand clearer policies. AI just works, churning out content and handling processes with robotic precision.
Need an article on how to unclog your sink? AI’s got you. Looking for advice on losing weight? AI will generate a thousand-word piece faster than you can say “calorie deficit.” Who needs humans when machines can pump out SEO-optimized content at scale?
Google to Creators: Thanks for Building the Web—We’ll Take It From Here
Let’s be clear: Google isn’t just using AI to streamline operations—they’re actively using it to replace you. Once upon a time, Google relied on content creators to populate the web with valuable information, guiding users to relevant, well-crafted articles. Now, with the rise of AI-generated answers dominating search results, that dynamic has shifted dramatically. Increasingly, Google is presenting direct, AI-generated responses to user queries right at the top of the page, eliminating the need for users to click through to an actual website.
For the average user, this might seem like an innovation. Who wouldn’t appreciate instant answers without the hassle of wading through links? But for content creators, it’s nothing short of a nightmare. Your meticulously written articles—hours of research, writing, and editing—are no longer the destination. Instead, they’re being reduced to raw material. Google’s AI scours your content, cherry-picks the highlights, and delivers them in bite-sized snippets designed to keep users glued to their search results page.
And what do you, the creator, get in return? Certainly not credit or recognition. Gone are the days when users clicked on a link to read your full article, see your ads, or explore more of your site. The traffic that once sustained your online presence is siphoned away by Google’s AI, which provides just enough information to satisfy the user without sending them to your site. The carefully built bridges between your content and its audience are being burned, replaced by a one-stop shop where Google controls both the narrative and the profit.
This isn’t just an evolution of technology—it’s a hostile takeover of the very ecosystem that content creators helped build. Google has turned the fruits of your labor into a resource it can mine, summarize, and repurpose, all while cutting you out of the equation. And if you think there’s a chance you might be compensated or credited for your contributions, think again. In this new world, your work isn’t celebrated; it’s exploited.
Google’s Guidelines: Because Who Needs Creativity When You Have Compliance?
Remember when Google Adsense’s guidelines were a reasonable framework to ensure a baseline of quality and integrity across the web? Those were the good old days when adhering to their policies felt achievable—logical, even. They set standards that made sense, helping content creators improve their work while ensuring users received reliable information. Fast forward to today, and those guidelines feel less like a framework and more like a constantly shifting minefield. One minute you think you’ve done everything right, meeting every requirement and checking every box, and the next, you’re hit with a rejection that leaves you scratching your head, wondering what went wrong.
The vagueness is almost comical. Did your site load 0.2 seconds too slowly? Did a link trip some obscure rule buried in a 15,000-word policy document? Was it your font choice? The truth is, you’ll probably never know because Google’s rejections rarely come with clear explanations. Instead, you’re directed to their sprawling policy pages, which somehow manage to be both overly specific and maddeningly vague at the same time. The message is clear: The problem is you, and it’s up to you to figure out how to fix it. Good luck.
But here’s the thing—it’s not really about quality anymore. Let’s not kid ourselves. This isn’t about raising the bar for better content or ensuring users have a superior experience. It’s about control. Google’s ever-tightening policies aren’t designed to foster creativity or encourage innovation. Instead, they function as a gatekeeping mechanism, narrowing the path for creators while expanding the dominance of AI-generated content and Google-owned answers.
The result is a system that feels less like a partnership and more like a dictatorship. Creativity? That’s secondary. Innovation? Only if it fits within Google’s increasingly rigid parameters. The priority now is compliance—absolute, unquestioning compliance. If you’re not willing or able to jump through every hoop, Google doesn’t need you. They have AI that can do the job faster, cheaper, and with zero demands.
For content creators, this shift is more than disheartening—it’s stifling. Where there was once room for unique voices and diverse perspectives, there’s now a conveyor belt of homogenized content designed to meet Google’s definition of “acceptable.” The irony, of course, is that the very people who built the internet into a thriving ecosystem of ideas and information are the ones being edged out in favor of AI-driven efficiency.
This isn’t just a loss for creators—it’s a loss for the web itself. When compliance becomes the ultimate goal, creativity suffers. When conformity is rewarded, innovation fades into the background. What’s left is a sanitized, algorithmically optimized version of the internet that serves Google’s interests far more than it serves users or the creators who made it all possible in the first place.
Google’s AdSense Approval: A Fun Game of ‘Guess What Went Wrong!
The lack of meaningful feedback is arguably the most infuriating aspect of the modern AdSense approval process. Back in the day, there was at least some level of transparency—if your application didn’t make the cut, you’d have a general idea of what went wrong. Today, that’s no longer the case. When Google rejects your application, they don’t bother with specifics. Instead, they point you to an endless policy page brimming with vague guidelines that seem designed more to confuse than to clarify.
Imagine receiving a rejection email that essentially says, “Something’s wrong with your site, but we’re not going to tell you what. Here’s a link to a 20-page document—good luck figuring it out!” It’s like being handed a puzzle with half the pieces missing and then being scolded for not solving it fast enough. The ambiguity leaves creators spinning their wheels, guessing at potential fixes for issues they don’t fully understand.
This lack of direction traps creators in a maddening cycle of trial and error. You spend hours tweaking your website, second-guessing everything from your layout and content to your site speed and ad placement. You comb through the policy page, trying to interpret whether your font size is somehow a violation or if that one affiliate link is the culprit. Then, with fingers crossed, you resubmit your application. And what happens? More often than not, you’re met with another rejection—and still no explanation.
And just to add insult to injury, every rejection comes with a waiting period before you can try again. Depending on the severity of the rejection (or Google’s mood, it seems), this waiting period could stretch into weeks or even months. For creators who rely on ad revenue to sustain their work, these delays can be financially devastating. It’s not just frustrating—it’s a roadblock that can completely derail the growth and viability of a website.
The irony, of course, is that this opaque process flies in the face of Google’s supposed commitment to supporting content creators. By withholding meaningful feedback, they’re not helping creators improve their sites—they’re setting them up for repeated failure. It’s a game where the rules are unclear, the goalposts keep shifting, and the referee won’t even tell you what penalty you’ve committed. And in the meantime, Google continues to prioritize AI-driven content and its own platforms, leaving independent creators struggling to stay afloat in an increasingly hostile environment to monetize their content.
Google’s New Motto: ‘Why Pay Humans When AI Does It All for Free?’
Let’s face it: Google doesn’t need us anymore. They’ve got AI to generate content, AI to manage ad placements, and AI to handle application reviews. In fact, at this point, humans are officially the weakest link in their ecosystem. Why bother with all the messy unpredictability of human involvement when AI can do everything more efficiently, with no coffee breaks, no errors, and, most importantly, no complaints? Google has found the perfect solution to “optimize” every process, and that solution involves cutting out the people who made it all possible in the first place.
The irony here is absolutely staggering. Google, a company that was once built on the contributions of everyday people—bloggers, content creators, small businesses—now wants nothing to do with those very creators. Google built its empire by leveraging the efforts of countless human minds. Each blog post, every how-to guide, all those niche websites filled with unique, helpful content—they didn’t just populate the web; they made Google the dominant search engine it is today. These content creators were the unsung heroes, producing the resources that gave Google the data and traffic it needed to dominate the online world. And now? Now, Google has turned its back on the very people who helped them succeed.
The same creators who helped shape the content landscape are now being sidelined in favor of AI-generated answers. And don’t kid yourself—Google doesn’t need your carefully researched articles or your original insights anymore. AI can churn out a response to any query in a fraction of the time it would take you to type out an answer, and it doesn’t even require a coffee break. Need a 1,000-word blog post? AI can do that. Need a product description? AI’s got you covered. Google has effectively replaced the need for content creators with algorithms that can summarize, rewrite, and spit out information with robotic precision. Who needs humans when you can automate everything?
But let’s not pretend that AI is here to improve the user experience—it’s here to replace the messy, human side of things. Google wants efficiency, control, and profit. If you’re not contributing to that, then you’re expendable. AI doesn’t need to eat, sleep, or make mistakes – well, at least not without doing it with unshakable confidence! . It doesn’t get tired or require motivation. It can generate endless amounts of content that’ll tick the SEO boxes without ever needing to be credited, paid, or given recognition. This means Google can generate content, control ad placements, and streamline the entire ecosystem without worrying about the pesky demands of human creators. It’s the perfect setup for them: more content, more ad revenue, and less human interaction.
The thing is, Google has built a sprawling empire on the backs of human content creators who were simply trying to make a living, share their knowledge, and build communities. These creators didn’t ask for much—just a chance to contribute to the digital landscape. And yet, in the blink of an eye, Google has chosen to move away from the people who made it what it is. The very algorithms that power Google’s search results are built on content created by those very same human contributors, but Google’s too busy trying to replace them with something more predictable—AI.
So, let’s put this in perspective: Google has enjoyed a monopoly in part because it was built on a partnership with people—people who spent years perfecting their craft, creating content that users wanted. Now, in their never-ending quest for efficiency and automation, Google has decided that content creators are just too much of a hassle. Why bother paying humans to write when you can have an AI do the job for free, without ever needing to be thanked?
In the end, Google’s actions are a testament to the cold, calculated way in which big tech treats its users. Human creators are just another resource to be optimized, automated, and discarded when no longer needed. What was once a symbiotic relationship built on mutual benefit has become a one-sided game of “who can cut out the humans first?” And Google, with all its shiny new AI tools, is clearly winning.
The Death of Adsense as We Knew It
If this trend continues, the AdSense program, as we once knew it, will inevitably become a relic of the past—something we look back on with nostalgia, wondering how we ever relied on it. What was once a thriving, mutually beneficial partnership between Google and content creators is now quickly becoming a one-sided affair. In the early days, content creators were the backbone of Google’s success. We produced the content, built the traffic, and provided the very material that made Google’s search engine so valuable. In return, we were offered a chance to monetize our hard work through AdSense, a program that allowed us to earn from the traffic we generated. It was a beautiful, if imperfect, system.
But now, Google has shifted the dynamic. While creators still pour their time and energy into producing content, Google has found a way to reap all the benefits without giving as much in return. AdSense was once a two-way street—now it feels more like a toll booth where Google takes its cut and leaves the creators with crumbs. The ad revenue that once flowed into the pockets of content creators is increasingly controlled by Google, and the platform is more selective, opaque, and difficult to navigate than ever before. It’s clear that Google is more interested in centralizing power, all while profiting from the very content that creators produce, without offering any meaningful compensation or credit in return.
And as AI continues to improve and evolve, the need for human creators will diminish even further. Google’s long-term strategy seems increasingly focused on automating every process imaginable. Why pay human writers when you can train a machine to churn out articles, blogs, and even personalized content with greater efficiency and at a fraction of the cost? The shift towards AI-generated content is not just a trend—it’s a tidal wave that’s already washing over the digital landscape. With every advancement, AI gets better at producing content that fits neatly into Google’s algorithmic model, requiring less oversight and fewer human hands.
Why would Google bother sharing ad revenue with creators when they can keep the profits for themselves? AI doesn’t need a percentage; it doesn’t need to be compensated. It doesn’t need the recognition, the credit, or even a pat on the back for doing the work. It’s simply a tool that serves Google’s interests in a more streamlined, cost-effective way. The result? Google gains control of more content, more traffic, and more profit—all while further marginalizing the human creators who once fueled its rise.
This shift represents a fundamental change in how content is valued in the digital world. It’s no longer about rewarding the individuals who build and nurture online communities—it’s about scaling up with machines that can produce endless amounts of content, all without the messiness of human involvement. In a world where AI can automate the entire content creation and ad management process, it’s easy to see why Google would be less interested in partnering with humans. After all, what’s the point of sharing ad revenue when the system can generate content on autopilot and keep all the profits?
If this trajectory continues, we’re heading into a future where the human touch is no longer needed, and the digital world is dominated by cold, efficient algorithms designed to serve only the interests of the tech giants. Content creators—those who once powered the web—will be left behind, replaced by machines, with no place left at the table.
What’s Next?
Yes, I See the Irony Here: My Site is Still Monetized with AdSense — For Now
So, what can you do? Should you throw in the towel and let AI take over? Maybe. Or maybe you fight back. Build an audience on platforms that value creators (if they exist). Diversify your revenue streams. Or, if all else fails, start an AI company and sell it to Google for billions.
Because, let’s be honest: In Google’s world, you’re either an asset or an afterthought. And right now, content creators are firmly in the latter category.
