Research | Shi Duo: Ad Blockers and Ad Quality

Release time：31 December 2025

Intrusive ads pop up when you are in the middle of watching videos or reading articles—have you installed an ad blocker? Now digital advertising supports most free content, making watching ads a “hidden cost” for users. However, ad blockers disrupt the balance. In dealing with excessive, irrelevant, and intrusive ads, they serve as a powerful weapon in protecting users from a frustrating browsing experience, yet they completely disrupt the advertising ecosystem. Opponents vehemently criticize them for undermining platform revenues, while supporters believe they can force ads to improve quality. Advertising itself is also contradictory—it can convey information and provide entertainment, yet it can also interrupt the experience.

“Are ad blockers good or bad?” In response to this question, Ad Blockers and Ad Quality, co-authored by Shi Duo from SME, CUHK-Shenzhen and a team of faculty and students from the University of Science and Technology of China (USTC), aims to explore the comprehensive impacts of ad blockers on various participants, including advertisers, platforms, and consumers, in the content platform ecosystem, with advertisers’ quality decisions taken into consideration. The paper seeks to find out whether ad blockers are ecosystem disruptors or quality promoters. Recently, the paper was published in Manufacturing & Service Operations Management, a world-leading journal in operations management. Shi Duo is the corresponding author of the paper and the joint doctoral supervisor of Li Jingyan, the first author. Li received the National Scholarship, the Third Prize for Best Student Paper at POMS China, and the USTC Outstanding Doctoral Dissertation Award based on this research. She currently works at the University of International Business and Economics and leads projects supported by the NSFC Young Scientists Fund (Category C).