By Marcus Goh, Director, PULSE Digital
The clinic remains liable, not Google. Under the Healthcare Services Act (HCSA) and the SMC Ethical Code and Ethical Guidelines (ECEG), an advertisement is judged by its published content and effect, regardless of who or what generated the wording. If Google’s automated assets insert a claim that breaches Singapore’s healthcare advertising rules, the licensee carries the compliance risk, not the algorithm.
What does "Google can rewrite your ads" actually mean?
Google Ads now uses a feature called automated assets, which generates additional headlines and descriptions by pulling phrases from your landing page and mixing them with the copy you submitted. These variants are tested against your original text without requiring your sign-off before they go live, unless you have changed the review setting in your account.
This matters for clinics because the system does not know what HCSA prohibits. It has no concept of testimonial language, outcome claims, or device naming restrictions. It optimises for click-through rate, not for the SMC ECEG.
Who is responsible if an AI-rewritten ad breaches HCSA guidelines?
The licensed clinic is responsible. HCSA licensing conditions apply to the entity that holds the licence and publishes the advertisement, and this obligation does not transfer to a third-party platform simply because the platform generated the final wording.
For individually named doctors, the SMC ECEG applies separately and directly to the practitioner, alongside the clinic’s HCSA obligations. Google’s own advertiser terms place responsibility for ad content on the account holder, which in most clinics is the marketing manager or owner who set up the account, not the agency running it day to day.
An agency can configure settings and monitor output, but the contractual and regulatory exposure sits with the clinic unless a written agreement states otherwise. This is worth confirming in writing with any agency you work with.
How do you audit automated ad assets for compliance?
- Go to campaign settings and set automated assets to “Don’t use” for every active Search campaign serving a Singapore audience.
- Open the Ads & Assets report weekly and check which combinations Google actually served, not just the ones you submitted.
- Cross-check served combinations against prohibited categories: testimonials, before-and-after references, price promotions, discounts, urgency language, and named medical devices.
- Screenshot the report with a timestamp and file it, so there is a record showing the clinic reviewed output, useful if HCSA or SMC ever asks for evidence of due diligence.
- Pause any ad group immediately if a served variant contains prohibited content, then submit a correction rather than waiting for the next scheduled review.
How does automated ad copy compare with manually written ad copy for compliance risk?
| Aspect | Manually written ad copy | Google automated assets |
|---|---|---|
| Who writes the final wording | Clinic or agency, reviewed before publishing | Google’s system, mixed from landing page and submitted text |
| Pre-publication review possible | Yes, every word is approved before it goes live | Only if automated assets is switched off |
| Risk of outcome or claim language | Low, controlled by the person writing it | Higher, system has no awareness of HCSA or SMC rules |
| Audit trail for regulator queries | Straightforward, one approved version | Requires separate weekly reporting to reconstruct |
| Control over exact wording | Full | Partial, unless disabled |
What Google Ads settings should Singapore clinics check today?
Start with the automated assets toggle at campaign level, since this is the setting that allows Google to generate and serve new headlines and descriptions without your sign-off. Turn it off for every campaign that runs in Singapore.
Next, check asset automation inside Performance Max campaigns specifically, because this feature behaves differently from standard Search automated assets and has its own on-off switch buried in account settings.
Finally, review any “Ad strength” recommendation Google has applied automatically. Google sometimes prompts advertisers to add extra headlines to reach “Excellent” ad strength, and clinics under pressure to hit that score have historically added language that reads close to an outcome claim without realising it falls outside SMC ECEG or HCSA limits.
None of these settings are complicated to change. The difficulty is that most clinics never look, because the account was set up once and left running.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does turning off automated assets fully protect a clinic from compliance breaches?
Can PULSE Digital review Google's automated ad variants on our behalf?
Does HSA regulate ad copy generated by Google's AI the same way as human-written copy?
Does turning off automated assets fully protect a clinic from compliance breaches?
Can PULSE Digital review Google's automated ad variants on our behalf?
Does HSA regulate ad copy generated by Google's AI the same way as human-written copy?
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About the author :
Marcus is the Founder and Director of PULSE Digital, a Singapore performance-marketing agency that helps businesses win visibility across Google Ads, Meta, SEO and AI search (AEO/GEO). PULSE works with clients across e-commerce, professional services and regulated, high-trust industries, with a particular specialisation in advertising compliance.
