Google is adding a new "enhanced protection" mode to its Google Messages app to help users spot scams, The Verge and 9to5Google reported Wednesday.

The opt-in setting will roll out in the coming weeks, The Verge said. It builds on the app's existing Scam Detection feature.

The mode uses cloud-based Gemini AI models to study conversations with unknown senders and understand a scammer's intent more quickly, both outlets reported.

"Scammers often disguise their true motives behind slow-burn conversations," Google said, according to The Verge. "This secure cloud analysis augments and extends our existing on-device detection, allowing us to identify novel and sophisticated attacks."

User data is encrypted during the AI check and processed in a secure space that Google cannot access, The Verge reported. 9to5Google said the system, called Private AI Compute, is also used by other Pixel features.

The mode also uses Gemini Nano, an AI model that runs on the phone itself, to check unfamiliar links before you open them, both outlets said. That link check works on the Pixel 10 and newer, the Samsung Galaxy S26 series and some other phones, 9to5Google reported.

Google announced other safety tools, too. Android will block apps from quietly turning on call forwarding, a trick scammers use to steal one-time passcodes, both outlets said. 9to5Google reported that this will start in early December on Pixel and some other phones.

Android will also hide sensitive information, such as passwords and banking details, during screen sharing in Chrome, both outlets reported.

Scam Detection for chat notifications, which started on Pixel phones, is expanding to phones from Motorola, OnePlus, Xiaomi, Oppo and other brands, both outlets said.

What we know: Google Messages will get an opt-in AI scam protection mode.
What we don't: Exactly when each phone will get it.