Originally appeared in The Current
Forget the cookie delay — AI is already rewriting the rules of advertising.
While the industry was busy debating yet another postponement of Chrome’s third-party cookie phaseout, AI quietly became the most disruptive force in marketing. But here’s the twist: AI doesn’t work without identity. If marketers want results — real outcomes, not just impressions — they need to prioritize the data that makes AI go.
First-party data strategies are now mainstream. Interoperable identity solutions like Unified I.D. 2.0 (UID2) and ID5 are gaining adoption across the open web. Connected TV (CTV) has grown into a performance-focused, cookieless channel. Contextual and geo-based targeting have become smarter and more scalable. Identity graphs are helping marketers stitch together signals across devices, platforms, and channels.
The foundation for a better ecosystem isn’t being built — it’s already here.
The AI hype is over — and the stakes are higher
It’s no longer buzz. AI is here, and it’s already reshaping how we plan, activate, and measure advertising.
We’re seeing the rise of agentic AI: systems that don’t just surface insights but act on them. These AI agents are identifying patterns, building audiences, optimizing media buys, and analyzing performance. AI is helping marketers stop guessing and start improving.
But there’s a catch — one we can’t afford to overlook.
AI is only as good as the data it works with. “Garbage in, garbage out.” as the saying goes. And in advertising, that means if you don’t know who you’re reaching, even the smartest AI won’t drive results. To unlock AI’s full potential, marketers need a strong, privacy-safe identity foundation.
Identity is the fuel that makes AI work
AI can personalize creative, optimize in-flight campaigns, and even recommend which channels to prioritize — but it can’t do any of that well without context. And context starts with identity.
Identity connects signals from different devices, logins, channels, and interactions to real people. It tells your AI models who you’re talking to — not just what they clicked. That kind of clarity gives AI the power to make smarter predictions, uncover insights, and deliver relevance at scale. Without identity, AI is guessing. With identity, it’s delivering.
Identity is the foundation of the outcomes era
We’re living in a performance-driven age. Impressions and clicks are no longer enough. Marketers today are being judged by real outcomes: incremental sales, customer acquisition, revenue lift, and long-term value.
To measure those outcomes, you need to know who you reached — and whether they took action. Identity makes that connection possible. It links ad exposure to real-world results. It enables accurate attribution across channels. It powers personalization at every stage of the journey, making every impression more valuable.
This is the outcomes era, and identity is what makes it measurable.
Commerce media and CTV show what’s possible
Two of the fastest-growing channels — commerce media and CTV — are great examples of identity in action.
At Experian, we’ve invested in this future. Our recent acquisition of Audigent brings together data, identity, and activation — under one roof — built to support both AI-driven planning and outcome-based performance.
How marketers can win now
To stay ahead in a world defined by AI and outcomes, marketers need to:
It’s not about rebuilding everything. It’s about building on what’s already working.
Final thought: Identity is the bridge
AI is raising the bar, and outcomes are the new standard. But neither works without identity. The marketers who win won’t treat identity as a compliance checkbox — they’ll treat it as their competitive edge.
Get started with us today
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With the recent announcement of delaying third-party cookie deprecation to 2024, the industry has more time to rethink how to identify and communicate with consumers.
As today’s digital landscape gets more and more complicated there are more ways for brands to connect with users and drive purchases and more ways for ad tech to target and measure those touch points. As in-person shopping picks up steam due to the re-normalization of society post-COVID 19; the connection between digital ads and in-person purchases needs to be made once again. With the rise of Connected TV throughout the pandemic there are even more digital opportunities to target a user. But how do you make sure that those brand engagements are captured and correctly attributed to offline purchases and conversions? The answer lies in a holistic identity resolution strategy. Cross-device identity resolution with The Tapad Graph connects the identifiers and devices of individuals within a household to each other; enabling targeting, frequency capping, extension, segmentation and measurement or attribution between devices; including Connected TV and hashed (privacy-protected) email addresses along with Cookies, Mobile Ad Ids and IP Address. Brands can join their first-party data to The Tapad Graph to execute strategies that connect online and offline data for pre, mid and post-campaign efficiencies. Let’s imagine a scenario in which an outdoor retail brand is targeting users watching specific content on a Connected TV device. Powered by identity resolution, they start with a general ad on CTV and continue targeting down individual paths with each user. When one of them converts in store and makes a purchase; the outdoor retailer can connect that action through location and in-store traffic data with the cross-device identity resolution used to execute the digital campaign. Now the actions of the user online and offline are resolved for more accurate measurement and attribution after the campaign ends. But it doesn’t stop there– the brand's CRM data can be reactivated for the next digital campaign and leveraged to capitalize on the most effective media mix for the user who made the purchase previously. These combined insights can be invaluable in shaping up future campaign strategies with geo-contextual ads, recommended additional products and personalization to help drive more conversions and purchases in-store or online. As in-person shopping picks back up and marketers are tasked once again with balancing online and in-store KPIs, the right identity resolution strategy can unlock necessary efficiencies for retailers, ad tech vendors and agencies tasked with supporting these initiatives. Get in touch
Experian Marketing Services and Data Quality President Genevieve Juillard recently sat down with Zach Rodgers, host of the AdExchanger Talks podcast to discuss the future of identity, the importance of data transparency and privacy, and our recent acquisition of Tapad. Genevieve focused on the opportunity for our industry to reimagine an advertising ecosystem that is resilient and adaptable; one that takes advantage of emerging data and prioritizes data transparency and consumer privacy. She also discussed the importance of advertising strategies that put consumers at the heart of every decision and give them more control over their data. Genevieve shared with AdExchanger that Experian’s acquisition of Tapad, a global leader in digital identity resolution, was a natural fit for our company. Tapad’s approach and role in the ecosystem is very much aligned with Experian’s, which is to develop solutions that are resilient to industry and consumer changes. The combination of our capabilities supports interoperability across all types of identifiers, both online and offline, and will position us to help our clients navigate the post-third-party cookie world. To learn more about Experian’s plans to support an effective advertising ecosystem that will evolve with our dynamic industry, listen to the full podcast Embracing ‘Healthy Fragmentation’ In Ad Tech, With Genevieve Juillard. Get in touch