There is a conflict of interest but with the amount of data Google has, they have to know it won't work out in a way that benefits them if they block adblockers.
Technical users have what is probably the lowest tolerance to BS that's humanly possible when it comes to the web viewing experience. The web without an adblocker is really really bad, to the point where I would instantly switch to another browser that continued to allow adblockers. The user experience of that browser wouldn't even matter as long as pages rendered and it worked reasonably well, that is already a million times better than having a ton of ads forced upon you.
I don't know about you but I also can't remember the last time I saw a paid ad and thought "wow, I want that" and then bought it. It just doesn't happen for me. If I end up buying something it's because there was a gap somewhere and a product filled that gap. I'm going to attempt to research the problem (the gap) and find a solution (various products) from a non-biased source before I buy it. This involves organic search results. Basically a paid ad that would have been blocked by an adblocker is going to have a 0% chance of converting me into a buyer.
Also, most non-technical users don't even know what an adblocker is. Unless someone set one up for them they are seeing ads. It seems weird to me they would spend a lot of effort into trying to block adblockers. The audience who uses them likely has a very small chance of ever buying something because of a paid ad and a large chunk of users don't use adblockers.
This whole scenario reminds me of Let's Encrypt in a way. If push comes to shove and major browser vendors like Chrome prevented adblockers something tells me some of the best minds in this space will come together and make a browser that will be technically better in every way possible.
Ad blockers used to be something mostly for the nerds way back when. These days, browser extensions are as easy to install as phone apps. So, yes, quite a lot of regular users have some kind of adblock these days. Overall it's still the minority, but it's not necessarily a small one.
Technical users have what is probably the lowest tolerance to BS that's humanly possible when it comes to the web viewing experience. The web without an adblocker is really really bad, to the point where I would instantly switch to another browser that continued to allow adblockers. The user experience of that browser wouldn't even matter as long as pages rendered and it worked reasonably well, that is already a million times better than having a ton of ads forced upon you.
I don't know about you but I also can't remember the last time I saw a paid ad and thought "wow, I want that" and then bought it. It just doesn't happen for me. If I end up buying something it's because there was a gap somewhere and a product filled that gap. I'm going to attempt to research the problem (the gap) and find a solution (various products) from a non-biased source before I buy it. This involves organic search results. Basically a paid ad that would have been blocked by an adblocker is going to have a 0% chance of converting me into a buyer.
Also, most non-technical users don't even know what an adblocker is. Unless someone set one up for them they are seeing ads. It seems weird to me they would spend a lot of effort into trying to block adblockers. The audience who uses them likely has a very small chance of ever buying something because of a paid ad and a large chunk of users don't use adblockers.
This whole scenario reminds me of Let's Encrypt in a way. If push comes to shove and major browser vendors like Chrome prevented adblockers something tells me some of the best minds in this space will come together and make a browser that will be technically better in every way possible.