Experts reveal top customer data and AI trends shaping 2025

As 2025 approaches, several key trends in data and artificial intelligence are poised to significantly impact the technology landscape, particularly in terms of customer experience, marketing and advertising. Leading experts discuss what next year will look like as brands continue to find more innovative ways to attract and retain customers.

Putting customer data at the forefront of advertising

Data is becoming a cornerstone of advertising strategies as brands move beyond traditional methods such as third-party cookies to create more robust and sustainable first-party data ecosystems. Nexxen’s head of client success, Tanja Williamsexplains that advertisers are increasingly investing in advanced data solutions to ensure accurate targeting, measure ROI and personalize consumer experiences.

“We’re seeing advertisers focus on developing their first-party data as they look for ways to reduce their reliance on cookies,” he explains. “This shift empowers brands to own their data strategies, create direct connections with their consumers and better tailor their messaging.”

The acceleration of subscription video-on-demand (SVOD) platforms and Free Ad-Supported TV Streaming (FAST) channels is reshaping the television landscape. The arrival of VOZ Trading and Streaming plus initiatives such as Foxtel’s Video Futures Collective further increase momentum and create new opportunities but complexities for advertisers. Automatic Content Recognition (ACR) data is emerging as a key data source for navigating the complexities of this fragmented media environment.

“Advertisers are increasingly recognizing the value of ACR data in bridging the gap between streaming and linear TV,” notes Williams. “By providing real-time insights into what content and ads are being consumed/viewed and where, ACR enables brands to identify overlapping audiences, tailor messages across screens and ensure they’re reaching the right audiences.”

FAST channels, which continue to grow rapidly, emphasize the importance of using planning and measurement tools using ACR data. “FAST channels are not only cost-effective, but also offer specialized and highly engaging content,” he notes. “ACR data enables advertisers to optimize campaigns in this space by unlocking insights into viewing habits and delivering personalized ads that resonate across platforms.”

It also highlights how data analytics and cross-screen measurement tools allow advertisers to more accurately measure the effectiveness of their investments. “Advertisers are using programmatic technologies and converged insights to engage audiences in a fragmented media environment,” he says. “With advanced attribution modeling, exclusive datasets like ACR, and cross-screen measurement, brands can make data-driven decisions that maximize campaign performance and ROI.”

Using data to achieve real-time marketing

One major shift Eagle eye CEO Tim Mason expects to see the impact of using data to improve real-time marketing and customer engagement. He anticipates that this will affect the issuance and redemption of offers, making loyalty marketing more immediate and effective.

“Advances in cloud computing and AI have increased the ability of businesses to collect and analyze data in real-time, enabling the creation of contextually relevant offers tailored to individual customer needs,” he says.

“Real-time publishing refers to instantly creating and delivering offers to customers based on their current behavior, location or context. These offers are generated and sent when a business detects a trigger, such as a customer entering a specific physical location, browsing the web, or making a specific purchase.

“Real-time cashout refers to instant execution of an offer at the point-of-sale (POS), in-store or online, so that the offer or discount is immediately applied before the transaction is completed and payment is made.

“Since this is now possible, we expect the speed of delivery of offers to increase and we will likely see more brands start using true real-time marketing.”

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AI, content and customer engagement

Nicholas SimonsenHead of Content at Impressive sees AI making a significant impact on content creation, but warns brands to keep customer relationships “human” and personalized.

“AI has taken the digital world by storm over the last few years, and as a result, I’ve found that everyone is starting to sound the same, regardless of industry. Don’t get me wrong, ChatGPT and AI in general have changed the game in many ways, but it has now reached the point where I can identify ‘ChatGPTisms’ in the first sentence or two of a web page. It all sounds so dull and generic.

I think in 2025, brands will refocus on human content and fostering that human connection between brand and consumer. With the market so saturated and spending down across the board, shoppers wanted to feel connected to their favorite brands, so we made sure we gave them that.”

Consumer interest in AI integration

NielsenIQ (NIQ) Director of Customer Success Marco Silva highlights one global trend affecting markets in Australia and New Zealand, the changing face of omnichannel retail and social media commerce. While there is still some work to be done for consumers to fully embrace the integration of AI into their everyday shopping, Mr. Silva notes that NIQ’s research reveals several low-key engagements with AI where shoppers appear to be much more open to the technology experience.

“However, in many of these cases, the differences in acceptance by generation are quite significant,” he said. “For example, nearly half of Gen Z and Millennials would use AI to automate or speed up their everyday shopping decisions (46% and 48%, respectively), while only 34% of Gen Xers and only 20% of Boomers agree they would. same.

“Segmenting the experience, or providing options to support older consumers to avoid frustration or mistrust, will be key to transformations that will enhance and not cannibalize the future growth potential of FMCG brands and producers.”

Transforming customer data management

These changes in marketing, advertising and media naturally lead to questions about how businesses will manage their customer data in the future. When you look at the broader area of ​​customer data, Amperage CTO and co-founder Derek Slager sees fundamental changes ahead.

“The customer data platform (CDP) category will continue to fragment, with vendors positioning themselves more clearly to their strengths rather than claiming to solve things completely,” he predicts.

Slager believes that instead of looking for a single platform solution, companies will increasingly adopt more specialized tools to solve customer data problems.

This transformation in data management will be accompanied by significant changes in how businesses analyze and manage their data. Slager is particularly optimistic about the role of artificial intelligence in transforming analytics.

“Dashboards are dead,” he declares. “The new surface for analysis and decision-making will be generative tools powered by artificial intelligence that offer the ability to answer the questions that matter on the fly.”

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