The death of identity-driven advertising is inevitable, and we must prepare for a future where AI-driven personalisation reigns supreme.
We will soon be living in a world where advertising no longer depends on tracking personal information to deliver targeted messages. This might appear improbable, but it’s closer to becoming reality than you might think. Rapid advancements in artificial intelligence (AI), together with stricter privacy regulations and evolving consumer expectations, are paving the way for profound transformations in how we connect with, and influence, customers.
In this era, the reliance of brands on personal data and tracking to enable identity-based advertising will diminish and, instead, AI-driven personalisation will create meaningful and relevant content that no longer requires human identifiers.
Lessons from the media evolution
For some time, we’ve been listening to the death-knell of the third-party cookie (that staple of digital advertising) and looking for viable alternatives that are more privacy-centric, such as unified identity frameworks that leverage device identifiers, email addresses, and first-party data to maintain targeting capabilities.
Moving towards AI-enabled personalisation is just the latest in a long line of adjustments that brands have made over the years to remain relevant and connected. When consumers started to use smartphones, advertising supported by mobile-specific identifiers was launched. Similarly, we saw the rise of Connected TV (CTV), which used targeting based on household-level data like IP addresses and device graphs.
What is emerging now is simply a new type of identifier: “agent IDs,” allowing AI systems to act on behalf of customers. What we can expect in the future is for human identity to play a minimal role, while AI systems take over decision-making and interaction.
The rise of AI agents
With AI agents becoming integral to product discovery, traditional search methods are likely to undergo dramatic changes. Unlike conventional search engines, AI agents use pre-trained knowledge and real time data to make decisions.
This approach reduces the need for direct user queries, instead using retrieval-augmented generation (RAG). For brands, this means optimising their data for these AI-driven systems, ensuring their offerings are utility-focused and align with key decision making criteria such as price, durability, and sustainability — rather than relying solely on brand recognition.
Ads will evolve into highly informative, data-rich assets designed to meet the needs of these autonomous systems.
Instant answers and privacy considerations
AI’s ability to deliver immediate, concise answers is revolutionising the way customers access information. The new challenge for marketers is to make their content accessible to AI decision-making models. Traditional search engine optimisation (SEO) may give way to AI optimisation, where tools like SHAP and LIME help brands and marketing teams understand and influence how AI algorithms rank their content.
Privacy concerns will remain central to this shift, with technologies like federated learning and differential privacy enabling AI to use aggregated data while safeguarding individual anonymity. As regulations such as GDPR gain traction, advertisers will need to adopt practices that balance effectiveness with compliance.
Ads evolving into contextual recommendations
The distinction between ads and recommendations is becoming increasingly blurred. Innovations like dynamic creative optimisation (DCO) and dynamic product optimisation (DPO) are allowing ads to adapt in real time based on user context and behaviour.
Future advertising will be even more granular and integrated into the consumer experience, offering relevant, contextually aware recommendations tailored to AI-driven goals.
In the new world of personalisation, an AI assistant will analyse a user’s preferences and recommend a product that perfectly aligns with their needs. These recommendations won’t feel like traditional ads; instead, they will act as intuitive solutions embedded within the decision-making process.
Prioritising utility over persuasion will reduce friction and enhance user satisfaction.
The journey has just begun
The shift away from identity-based targeting is only the beginning of a broader transformation. As AI becomes further entrenched in the advertising ecosystem, brands that embrace these changes early will gain a competitive edge. The focus will shift from intrusive data collection to delivering genuine value through innovation and adaptability.
Those of us working in the marketing industry understand that the demise of identity-driven advertising is inevitable, and we must prepare for a future where AI-driven personalisation reigns supreme. Brands that prioritise utility, respect privacy, and adapt to this dynamic landscape will not only survive but thrive.