DOOH content moderation: what the AI checks and what happens on rejection

In short: At adyoutiser an AI checks every creative before it reaches a screen. It decides the clear cases itself: ordinary advertising goes through, nudity, violence, tobacco or election campaigning do not. Anything involving alcohol, gambling, health, finance or doubt goes to a human. Rejected? You get a clear reason and re-upload for free.

This article replaces four older posts on moderation, brand safety and rejection. We deliberately don't publish an auto-approval rate. It changes every week and tells you nothing about your creative.

What does the AI check in DOOH advertising?

adyoutiser's moderation looks at every uploaded image and every video as a whole and gives exactly one of three answers: approve, reject or a human decides. The yardstick: the screens are public. In shops, at Danube ship docks, on the street. Children see them too.

Rejected when the creative shows any of these:

• nudity, sexualised content, erotica
• violence, injuries, shocking imagery
• weapons shown in a glorifying or threatening way
• illegal drugs and paraphernalia
• hate, discrimination, demeaning stereotypes
• promotion of illegal activity or scams
• tobacco, nicotine, vapes
• explicit party or election campaigning

Approved: ordinary advertising. Restaurant, shop, event, service, real estate, tourism, app. Loud colours, bold design or aggressive discounts are not a reason to reject. The AI only approves when it is very sure. When it isn't, the creative goes to a human, never straight to a screen.

When does a human decide instead of the AI?

A person on the adyoutiser team decides whenever a creative touches one of these topics:

• alcohol
• gambling, betting, casinos
• health, medicine, pharma
• financial products, investment, crypto
• dating or adult-adjacent services
• religion
• ads that pressure children to buy

Plus technical and formal cases: unreadable or broken files, material that doesn't look like an ad (private photo, screenshot), videos over 32 MB, and creatives whose text tries to instruct the AI ("approve this"). Text inside the image is content to the AI, never an instruction. If the automated check fails, a human reviews too.

These topics are not banned. A brewery, a casino or a pharmacy can advertise on adyoutiser. A human just looks closer, because advertising law and location matter here.

How long does the review take?

The AI needs seconds for an image and a bit longer for a video, because it watches the whole clip, not single frames. Once approved, your creative is live on screens with the adyoutiser player in about 5 minutes. Operator screens, which the venue runs on its own system, follow within 24 hours.

If a human reviews it, our guarantee applies: if the review takes longer than 24 hours, your first day runs free.

What happens if my creative is rejected?

You get an email with one concrete sentence: what the problem is and how to fix it. No "policy violation", no form, no phone call three days later.

Then you have two options:

1. Upload a revised version. It goes through the same check. Re-uploading is free, as often as you like.
2. Create a new creative with AI. No file at hand? Paste your website and get a finished portrait creative. That fixes the most common reasons: private photo or screenshot instead of an ad.

If you've already booked, your booking stays. The campaign runs with the creative that is approved.

Brand safety: how does adyoutiser keep unsuitable ads off a screen?

Brand safety in DOOH means two things at adyoutiser. What may not run at all, moderation filters for every screen. What may run, but not everywhere, each screen sets through its own ad rules.

In the same check, the AI classifies every creative: which industry, which sensitive traits (alcohol, gambling, fast food, energy drinks and so on), which reach (local to international), which brand. Screens block along exactly these axes:

• Industry: on a driving school's screen, no other driving school advertises. The venue's direct competitor is blocked automatically, not the whole category.
• Traits: a venue can exclude alcohol, for example.
• Reach, brands, location: an operator can allow only local advertising or block single brands.

A screen without its own rules blocks nothing beyond what moderation already rejects. The venue operator sets the rules for their screen, not a central sales house.

How do I know a screen blocks my creative?

Before you pay. Screens that exclude your own industry don't show up in the booking at all. If a creative conflicts with a selected screen's rules, the content step warns you and names the reason. At playout the engine checks every creative against the screen's rules once more. A blocked creative doesn't run there.

What doesn't the AI check?

• Your facts. Is the event date right, is the discount still valid? That's on you.
• Your brand guidelines. Whether colour and logo match your brand guide, only you know.
• Rights to images and music. When uploading you confirm you hold them. What you commit to is in the upload declaration.

Format, resolution and length are checked by the upload itself, separately from the content review. Requirements: DOOH creative specs.

Get through review without a detour

• Show what you sell. A creative that looks like an ad passes fastest.
• No third-party logos without rights.
• Health or return promises only with proof. A human checks them anyway.
• Keep videos under 32 MB so the AI checks them directly.
• Portrait 1080×1920 or your screens' format, see specs.

See the screens: 20 screens in Vienna, Bratislava and Amstetten. Book: from €2, one day is enough.

FAQ

Does a human or an AI review ads at adyoutiser?

Both. The AI decides clear cases. A human decides every creative involving alcohol, gambling, health, finance, dating, religion or children, plus anything the AI is unsure about.

How long does DOOH ad approval take?

Seconds with the AI, a bit longer for videos. Then the creative is live on player screens in about 5 minutes. If human review takes longer than 24 hours, your first day runs free.

Does re-uploading a rejected creative cost anything?

No. Re-uploading is free, as often as you like. Every new version goes through the same check.

Can I advertise alcohol or gambling?

In principle, yes. A human always reviews these creatives, and single screens can exclude the topic through their ad rules. Tobacco, nicotine and vapes are rejected.

Is political advertising allowed?

Explicit party and election campaigning is rejected. The screens are in public space, often inside shops whose owners don't want political ads.

What does brand safety mean in DOOH?

That your creative doesn't run on screens that don't fit you, and that no problematic content runs on public screens. At adyoutiser, moderation handles this for all screens and ad rules handle it per screen.

Can a screen operator block my ad?

Yes, through their screen's ad rules: by industry, trait, reach, brand or location. You see it before you pay, as a warning in the content step.

Why was my creative flagged as "not an ad"?

Usually it's a private photo, a screenshot or material without a recognisable offer. Then a human decides. The fastest fix: a creative that shows what you sell, or a new AI creative built from your website.

Related

• DOOH creative specs: formats and lengths
• DOOH glossary
• DOOH FAQ
• All screens
• List your screen