The company’s pitch noted that the software captures real-time voice data.

Since the advent of targeted advertising on websites and social media, theories have been circulating that smartphones and other gadgets, including tablets and laptops, are actively listening to users’ conversations to deliver personalized ads. Now, a new report has confirmed these long-held suspicions.

According to 404 Media, Cox Media Group, a marketing firm whose clients include Facebook and Google, has privately admitted that it listens to the microphones of users’ smartphones and then places ads based on the information it picks up. The television and radio news conglomerate admitted in a pitch deck to investors that its “Active Listening” software uses artificial intelligence to “capture real-time intent data by listening to our conversations.”

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“Advertisers can combine this voice data with behavioral data to reach consumers in their own markets,” the company wrote in the pitch deck.

“Consumers leave a data trail based on their conversations and online behavior,” and the AI-powered software collects and analyzes this “behavioral and voice data from more than 470 sources,” CMG said in the document.

Google removed CMG from its Partners Program website after 404 Media reached out to the company for comment.

“All advertisers must comply with all applicable laws and regulations, as well as our Google Ads policies. When we identify ads or advertisers that violate these policies, we will take appropriate action,” a Google spokesperson said. The Post.