Ad blockers and consumer behaviour

If you're among the 22% of UK consumers using an ad blocker, you already know that some content-heavy sites (like The Guardian) will allow you to see what they publish but will also request (not require) that you turn off the ad blocker or pay.

And you know that some sites will block you for using an ad blocker--requiring you to turn it off when viewing their pages. If the ad blocker remains on, the content will not load.

Now Google is going to release its own Chrome-based ad blocking software in 2018. The idea is to give consumers more control over ads that are particularly annoying or that don't fit Google's guidelines for some other reason. Why? Because 'it's far too common that people encounter annoying, intrusive ads on the web - like the kind that blare music unexpectedly, or force you to wait 10 seconds before you can see the content on the page', says a Google exec.

Google will also allow content providers to either require that consumers turn off their blockers for those sites or levy a fee for viewing the content.

Consumers who want to access content will have to change their behaviour. Already, content sites are educating visitors that content costs money, one way or the other, and turning off the ad blocker allows a site to continue receiving advertising revenue without any direct payment from the consumer.

Will the new Chrome ad blocker change consumer behaviour and increase the number of UK users? The answer may depend, in part, on whether the blocker comes preinstalled and in place. We'll have to wait a little longer for the details.