Data, AI and advertising: 2025 predictions

In the new year, advertisers will look to improve ad experiences and targeting to boost efficiency. While audience expectations will continue to rise, so will the need to prove ad effectiveness.

We asked experts to share their views on how new tools and strategies will help advertisers and agencies make the most of their data in the coming year.

Agencies leaning in

Budgets will be tighter this year, so agencies will increasingly rely on technology to negotiate better deals for clients and measure campaign effectiveness.

“I think that agencies are moving into the data and technology space much more forcefully — thinking that size and weight in comparison to walled gardens will get them better deals for their clients and also help them accumulate sufficient data assets to build their own proprietary models,” said Mike Froggatt, senior director analyst at Gartner. “There will be a lot more algorithmic media plans, especially in the draft stages. Brands will expect some of those cost savings to be passed on, leading to some changes with agency relationships and AORs.”

Froggatt said marketers and agencies will “go back to basics” and implement strict testing regimes, media mix modeling, and impact assessments.

Froggatt explained: “I think this is part of getting away from cookie and partner-based measurement. If Meta and Google are your only media buys, then those two platforms’ analytics can provide a pretty decent view of the impact of that spend to your business. Once marketers hit the limit of return on ad spend in these channels, though, leveraging cookies (or even other identifiers) to measure their programmatic, cross-site advertising will be a challenge. I think getting back to a/b/n testing, incrementality and matched market testing are going to provide a much more holistic view of advertising’s impact on the bottom line.”

DCO breakthrough

Advertisers have had access to dynamic creative optimization (DCO) for years. With the rise of other AI-powered advertising technologies, it’s likely to gain wider use.

“2025 will be a breakthrough year for dynamic creative optimization as generative AI finally unlocks its full potential,” said Oz Etzioni, CEO and co-founder of digital advertising company Clinch. “Brands will go beyond basic customization, using AI-driven tools to create and optimize thousands of tailored ad variations in real-time, driving deeper personalization and engagement. A new wave of startups and innovations will simplify DCO adoption, making advanced creative strategies more accessible. By integrating creativity with data-driven insights, marketers can revolutionize campaigns, achieve scale without sacrificing resonance and set a new standard for impactful advertising.”

“AI is transforming the creative process, with consumers split on its impact — some embracing it, others spotting flaws,” said Julie Clark, SVP, media and entertainment at TransUnion. “As we head into 2025, marketers will face pressure to adopt and experiment with AI, but its success depends on a solid data foundation. The stronger the data, the more intuitive, connected, and precise marketing experiences.”

More personalized offers and recommendations

“AI and machine learning are revolutionizing how brands engage with consumers,” said Colin Bodell, Chief Technology Officer at Bazaarvoice. “From personalized recommendations to automated customer service, these technologies offer insights and experiences at a scale that was previously impossible.”

According to Bazaarvoice’s research, personalized offers drive 45% of shoppers to complete online purchases. Brands and retailers will also have to make sure the supply chain is flexible enough to deliver on personalized offers.

“In 2025, the brands that leverage AI to deliver hyper-personalized experiences and maintain a responsive, flexible supply chain will have a significant edge in building long-term customer loyalty,” said Bodell.

These personalized experiences will be relevant throughout the customer journey and, specifically, for more personalized ads.

“In 2025, digital advertising will be defined by transformative trends that reshape how marketers engage consumers,” said Aman Sareen, CEO of AI ad solutions company Aarki. “AI-powered, privacy-first personalization will become the cornerstone of effective marketing strategies. Brands will shift from collecting massive amounts of data to leveraging intelligent, contextual insights that respect user privacy and deliver precise, meaningful experiences.”

Dig deeper: 2025 customer experience predictions

Improving data management

To support dynamic ad experiences, marketers will take steps over the next year to improve data management.

“One area set for disruption in 2025 is the analysis of content and related data, with better data management and measurement as key factors to unlocking full marketing potential,” said Verl Allen, CEO of marketing data standards platform Claravine. “To unify data, marketers and their agencies must align on and prioritize the data critical to decision-making and collaboration. This can include negotiating with RMNs and CTV platforms, optimizing their data stack, and exploring data clean rooms and AI tools. But the success and speed of any of these strategies and innovation, in a fragmented market, hinges on mastery of fundamentals like taxonomy, metadata, and IDs across the experience supply chain.”

Using AI for contextual targeting

Traditionally, targeting in digital advertising has been divided between deterministic and non-deterministic targeting — ads delivered either to identified audiences or in contexts related to the audience’s interests. Tighter privacy rules mean new ways of using first-party data and non-deterministic algorithms will gain wider use, bridging the previous divide.

“2025 will be the year when privacy, contextual targeting and AI intersect,” said Vikrant Mathur, co-founder of digital advertising platform Future Today. “With heightened regulatory pressures and consumer awareness around privacy, the traditional models of building audiences based on persistent identifiers will have to be re-engineered. The good news is that advances in AI and technology can now leverage first-party data and PII-agnostic non-deterministic algorithms for effective audience building and targeting, aligning with the evolving privacy standards and consumer expectations yet delivering on the promise of superior outcomes for brands. We predict that this next wave of contextual targeting — Contextual2.0 — powered by advanced, privacy-friendly technologies, will gain broader adoption in the coming year.”

Omar Tawakol, CEO and co-founder of Rembrand, said: “Looking ahead to 2025, the emphasis is likely to shift from purely creative applications of generative AI to more contextual and seamless ad integrations. Advertisers are starting to recognize that it’s not just about creating more content — it’s about making sure that content fits naturally within the broader viewing experience.”

Tawakol added: “By embedding products directly into existing content, brands can maintain visibility even as traditional ad formats become less effective. As this technology advances, it will offer advertisers more flexibility and control over how their products are integrated, allowing for more sophisticated and contextually relevant placements. This approach ensures that ads aren’t just seen but also feel like an organic part of the viewing experience.”

Programmatic consolidation around higher-quality data

“The massive explosion in alternative ID frameworks has created a headache for both the buy and sell side of the ecosystem,” said Bennett Crumbling, head of marketing at data clean room and collaboration platform Optable. “Although the promise of more deterministic (better quality data) is strong, these frameworks are often complicated to implement and even more so to manage across an increasing amount of demand partners. We see this getting easier to manage in 2025, and ultimately the best partners from the demand side will emerge as publishers glean insights.”

AI-as-a-Service in advertising

“Marketers, advertisers, and media planners face growing pressure to innovate while maintaining strong campaign performance,” said Jon Schulz, CMO at Viant. “Artificial intelligence is poised to revolutionize advertising by automating the complex and time-intensive processes of media planning, bidding, and optimization. Much like SaaS transformed software — making it scalable, on-demand, and easily accessible — AI-as-a-Service promises to reshape advertising by freeing up time for media planners and buyers to focus on higher-level strategic tasks.”

Schulz added: “Beyond automating planning and decision-making, AI’s capabilities are expanding into measurement, with the potential to analyze and derive actionable insights from campaign performance. We’re only beginning to uncover the possibilities of AI-as-a-Service in advertising.”

Dig deeper: 5 essential priorities for marketers in 2025

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