At A Glance
Identity resolution unifies fragmented IDs into complete customer profiles, helping companies understand their audiences and deliver personalized, privacy-compliant experiences in a cookie-light world. With Experian’s AI-powered identity resolution solution, marketers gain the scale, accuracy, and compliance to compete while making marketing more human.In this article…
Every marketer has seen it: a customer browses reviews on a laptop, adds items to a cart on mobile, then “disappears.” In reality, they just likely switched devices or logged in with a different email. Identity resolution connects these scattered signals into a single profile so you never lose sight of the customer journey.
Identity resolution is what helps you keep track of customers who bounce around.
Connecting scattered signals into a single customer profile can help you deliver seamless experiences, meet strengthening privacy standards, turn first-party data into measurable results, and fuel better customer analytics.
See our identity resolution solution in action
What is identity resolution?
Identity resolution is the process of pulling together the different identifiers a customer uses and connecting them to a single profile. Without it, you’re left with an incomplete picture of the customer — like a cart tied to one email, an app login tied to another device, or a loyalty swipe that never links back to the same person.
Common identifiers include:
- Cookies: Short-lived browser data
- Emails: Plain-text and hashed
- Device IDs: Mobile advertising IDs (MAIDs) or app-based identifiers
- Loyalty IDs: Program numbers that tie online and offline activity
- Hashed PII: Personally identifiable information (PII) encrypted for privacy
Ultimately, identity resolution can help you recognize the same customer wherever they engage.
Why does identity resolution matter now?
Marketers face incomplete views, data silos, privacy regulations, and shrinking visibility:
- Rising consumer expectations: People want seamless, personalized journeys across touchpoints.
- Privacy-first environment: Consumer privacy legislation (like the GDPR, CCPA, GLBA, FCRA, and new state laws) makes compliance non-negotiable.
- Signal loss: The decline of cookies, MAIDs, and walled gardens are pushing brands toward first-party data.
Experian utilizes AI and machine learning to fill these gaps, predict behaviors, and connect signals across devices — providing marketers with a clear, privacy-safe view of their customers, even when traditional identifiers are missing.
In this environment, identity resolution matters because it gives marketers a way to deliver seamless, personalized customer experiences and engage audiences effectively while respecting their privacy. It’s the basis for turning consented first-party data into measurable marketing outcomes without sacrificing trust.
Why is identity resolution critical in a privacy-first world?
Even as cookies linger, marketers have already shifted their strategies to rely on first-party data, where choice and transparency are the baseline expectation. At Experian, our long history as a regulated data steward makes us a uniquely capable and trusted partner for managing modern compliance expectations. Our identity resolution solutions maximize the value of permission-based data while meeting consumer demand for privacy, personalization, and control.
Struggling with scattered customer data? Experian makes identity resolution seamless
How does identity resolution help brands?
Identity resolution turns fragmented signals into unified profiles that drive personalization, efficiency, and compliance. Here’s how it creates measurable business impact.
Creates a unified customer view
One of the biggest advantages of identity resolution is the ability to integrate data from loyalty programs, point-of-sale (POS) systems, customer relationship management (CRM) platforms, web analytics, and offline sources into a single, comprehensive profile. Experian strengthens identity resolution with AI-driven clustering models that resolve household and individual identities across billions of signals with greater accuracy.
With a clearer picture of each customer, brands see higher match rates and larger addressable audiences, which translates to more substantial reach and better return on ad spend (ROAS).
Enables better personalization
Customers constantly switch devices, update their information, and change preferences. Experian makes it easier to keep pace with these changes through frequent data enrichment and near-real-time identity resolution via Activity Feed.
Combined with our long-standing use of AI and machine learning, this approach ensures shifting behaviors are captured quickly, enabling timely personalization, and more responsive engagement.
With less delay from data to action, the result is faster response times and higher conversion rates.
Improves the customer experience
Customers notice when brands deliver relevant ads and contextual content across every channel. Consistency matters! But consistency doesn’t just happen on its own; it comes from identity resolution, which keeps the customer journey connected.
As brands maintain continuity, they build trust, strengthen engagement, and increase customer lifetime value.
Drives better marketing ROI
Not every profile is valuable. Identity resolution helps marketers identify the highest-value audiences and reduce wasted spend.
That efficiency leads to lower CPA and a higher overall ROI across campaigns.
The power of modeling from a stronger foundation
When you have a unified customer view, your models are built on better data. That means you can find more people who look like your best customers, build more responsive audience segments, and target with greater accuracy. This foundation can lead to better spending, more relevant campaigns, and a higher ROI.
Maintains privacy compliance
With GLBA/FCRA-grade standards and consumer choice mechanisms like opt-outs and data correction, you can protect your brand while maintaining personalization — without compromising legal or ethical safeguards.
What are some identity resolution use cases and examples?
Every industry faces its own unique identity challenges, but identity resolution is the common thread that turns scattered data into connected experiences. Let’s break down how companies in different verticals are putting it to work (and the kinds of results they’re seeing).
Retail and e-commerce
Shoppers bounce between websites, carts, and checkout lines, leaving behind scattered signals in the process. In retail, identity resolution bridges the gap between online and in-store experiences by matching online carts with loyalty swipes or connecting connected TV (CTV) exposure to in-store sales. This means fewer silos, better targeting, and more personalized offers wherever people shop.
Our 2025 Digital trends and predictions report calls out that omnichannel experiences aren’t optional anymore. With CTV and social dominating spend, brands need identity resolution to cut through silos and build a complete view of customer behavior.
Financial services
In financial services, identity resolution makes it possible to deliver personalized, compliant offers like refinancing options for likely mortgage switchers or the right rewards card for frequent spenders.
Our partnership with FMCG Direct to create Consumer Financial Insights® and Financial Personalities® segments helps banks, insurers, and lenders understand behaviors — such as credit card use, deposit balances, and investment habits — without exposing sensitive details.
Read more below about how our financial audiences enable privacy-safe personalization.
Travel and hospitality
Travel decisions aren’t always planned out in advance. Many bookings happen spur-of-the-moment, which is why real-time identity resolution is so powerful; it keeps the journey seamless when travelers jump from phone to laptop to tablet and presents relevant offers right as decisions are being made.
Windstar Cruises put this information into action with Experian’s identity graph to connect digital interactions with actual bookings, which drove 6,500+ reservations and $20 million in revenue.
Media and TV
Viewers tend to hop around between linear TV, streaming apps, and social feeds. And without identity resolution, every screen looks like a different person. Marketers can accurately plan, activate, and measure campaigns by unifying viewing behaviors into one ID with Experian’s AI-powered identity graph.
Optimum Media tackled its multiscreen challenge by partnering with Experian for identity solutions. Layering our audience insights and our AI-driven Digital Graph onto their subscriber data, they were able to connect the dots across channels, reach the right households, and measure results instead of just impressions. In the end, they finally got a clear view of what works across every screen.
Curious how identity resolution can power your customer analytics? We can walk you through it.
Healthcare and pharma
Healthcare marketers can’t afford slip-ups with HIPAA regulations. Identity resolution makes it possible to engage the right patients and providers with de-identified audiences rather than third-party cookies.
At Experian, AI and machine learning have always been part of how we power identity resolution. In healthcare, that means using AI-enhanced modeling to connect de-identified clinical and claims data with lifestyle insights. The result is a more comprehensive picture of the patient journey that helps close care gaps, reduce wasted spending, and improve outcomes.
By working with partners like Komodo, PurpleLab, and Health Union, we make it possible to activate campaigns at scale that boost engagement and adherence while keeping patient privacy front and center:
- Komodo Health enriches our identity graph with insights from millions of de-identified patient journeys plus lifestyle data, giving brands a fuller view of where care gaps exist and how to close them.
- PurpleLab connects real-world clinical and claims data to Experian’s platform, letting advertisers activate HIPAA-compliant audiences across CTV, mobile, and social with the ability to measure real outcomes like prescription lift and provider engagement.
- Health Union contributes a data set built from 50 million+ patient IDs and 44 billion+ patient-reported data points. Combined with our identity and modeling capabilities, this expands match rates and unlocks up to 76% net-new reach, so campaigns reach patients and caregivers in critical health moments.
As a result, healthcare brands can launch campaigns that are privacy-first, highly targeted, and proven to drive meaningful impact.
Audio
People use audio while commuting, working out, and even folding laundry. It can be one of the hardest channels to track because of how frequently listeners switch between apps, stations, and devices.
Experian’s identity resolution partnerships with Audacy and DAX change the game:
- Audacy helps tie scattered listening into a single view, so advertisers can follow audiences across devices and keep ads relevant in the moment.
- DAX pairs Experian’s 2,400+ syndicated audiences with its audio network, enabling brands to target precisely and launch impactful campaigns at scale.
These partnerships turn audio into an accurate channel where ads feel personal, privacy-safe, and measurable.
Gaming
Gamers don’t stick to one platform. Player data gets scattered across mobile, console, and PC, so it’s tough to keep track of individuals. Experian helps stitch those signals together so publishers can finally see the whole picture, personalize gameplay, and keep players coming back.
With enriched profiles, publishers can deliver offers that resonate and unlock fresh revenue by packaging high-value gaming audiences for advertisers outside the industry.
Unity, a leading gaming platform, is tapping into Experian’s syndicated audiences to gain player insights and help advertisers reach gamers across mobile, web, and CTV. For global publishers, unifying player data with Experian has driven higher engagement and stronger ad ROI.
How should I evaluate identity resolution providers?
When choosing an identity resolution partner, look for:
- Data scale and quality: The value of identity resolution depends on how complete and accurate the underlying data is. The right provider should bring together a wide range of identifiers from online and offline sources, maintaining high accuracy so your customer profiles are broad and reliable.
- Match accuracy and recency: The best partners also refresh their data regularly and can blend deterministic (exact, one-to-one matches) with probabilistic (pattern-based matches) methods. That way, you get the accuracy of “this email is definitely that customer” with the reach of “this device likely belongs to the same person.”
- Privacy and compliance readiness: Compliance can’t be an afterthought. Your identity partner should be ready for GLBA, FCRA, GDPR, CCPA, and the latest state-level rules with built-in tools for opt-outs, corrections, and deletions.
- Integration flexibility: A good provider fits into your world, not the other way around. Look for pre-built integrations with your customer data platform (CDP), demand-side platform (DSP), or marketing tech (MarTech) stack so you can get up and running without the heavy IT lift.
- Data analytics capabilities: You need proof that identity resolution drives ROI. Look for closed-loop measurement that ties unified IDs directly to campaign performance, so you can see what’s working and optimize with confidence.
How Experian enables enterprise-grade identity resolution
Experian delivers identity resolution at the scale, accuracy, and compliance required by the world’s largest enterprises. Our solutions are:
- Built on trust: Backed by 40+ years as a regulated data steward and rated #1 in data accuracy by Truthset, so you can act with confidence.
- Powered by our proprietary AI-enhanced identity graph: Combining breadth, accuracy, and recency across four billion identifiers, continuously refined by machine learning for maximum accuracy.
- Seamlessly connected: Pre-built data integration with leading CDPs, DSPs, and MarTech platforms for faster time to value.
- Always up to date: Frequent enrichment and near-real-time identity resolution through Activity Feed for timely personalization and more responsive customer engagement.
- Privacy-first by design: Compliance with GLBA, FCRA, and emerging state regulations baked in at every step, supported by rigorous partner vetting.
The bottom line
Identity resolution turns fragmented signals into connected, measurable, and compliant experiences. From retail to gaming, brands using it see stronger personalization, engagement, and ROI.
With Experian, you get the data, trust, and responsible AI innovation to make identity resolution work across every channel. Our approach uses AI to connect identities, predict behaviors, and deliver personalization that balances privacy with performance. If you’re ready to turn fragmented data into growth, now’s the time to start.
The world’s leading brands trust us to power identity resolution at scale. See how we can do the same for you.
Identity resolution FAQs
Deterministic uses exact identifiers (like an email) for accuracy, while probabilistic uses signals and algorithms to expand reach. Best-in-class providers usually combine both.
Identity resolution helps with personalization by unifying scattered signals into one profile. It reduces wasted spend and increases match rates, which means bigger addressable audiences and higher ROAS.
Yes. With first-party data and hashed PII, brands can still maintain addressability and personalization.
Retail, finance, travel, media, gaming, and audio all use identity resolution to personalize, attribute sales, and improve efficiency.
A customer data platform unifies the data you already own. Meanwhile, we add depth, scale, and higher match rates by layering in our identity graph and data enrichment.
Yes. Experian is GLBA/FCRA compliant, GDPR/CCPA ready, and supports consumer opt-outs and corrections to ensure responsible personalization.
Latest posts
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
It’s been over a year since Google announced they’d be deprecating the third-party cookie and in that time there’s been a major focus on two types of cookieless identity solutions. Identity vendors and marketers are strategizing which of these two future solutions best fits their needs so they can achieve privacy-safe scale once third-party cookies are no longer available for use on Chrome. Let’s break down these solutions and the considerations marketers need to take into account when deciding what partners to move forward with in the future of identity resolution. Authenticated Traffic Solutions Authenticated traffic solutions (ATS) are a type of digital identification that asks the end-user to identify themselves via personal information, most commonly email address. Often, you’ll see self-authentication at the point of entry to a website that asks you to create an account or login immediately to access the content you are seeking. E-commerce sites use authentication to keep track of consumer purchases and inform advertising decisions for that customer; and publishers use it to tailor featured content, or, more importantly for this discussion, leverage it within the ad ecosystem for targeting. While authentication can provide very valuable user data for audience segmenting and targeting, it can be limited in scale for a single publisher to leverage and monetize on their own. That’s why some identity vendors have worked to integrate themselves within as many publisher authentication modules as possible, so that they can create an aggregate of scale for the ad ecosystem to tap into. But, even this isn’t going to deliver the reach marketers truly thirst for. Alternatively, Facebook has the scale for authenticated traffic, but they keep their data inside a walled garden, so the utility of those authenticated users is only valuable within the Facebook ecosystem. So how can authenticated traffic solutions increase scale to broaden the scope of identifiers they can collect and leverage? Hint: a few of the biggest players have already figured it out. It’s the single sign-on. Google is probably the largest purveyor of a single-sign on solution that can directly impact advertising capabilities. Can you think of a site you visit that doesn’t offer a sign-in with your existing Google account? It’s a short list. Google has integrated themselves into so many applications and publishers that “Login with Gmail” is just second nature (you pictured the Gmail logo when you read that, didn’t you?). Now, if you’re about to purchase something you found off an Instagram ad, or perhaps a retailer you buy from regularly, you’ve probably noticed options to proceed with your checkout via “Amazon pay” or “Apple pay”. These are also single-sign ons. You’re authenticating yourself through Amazon or Apple to that retailer in exchange for A- the safety and security that Amazon or Apple provide for your financial information and B- skipping the annoying process of manually entering personal information over and over again at point of sale. It’s starting to sound like there’s a lot of authenticated data out there isn’t it? Well, that’s true, but again, Amazon and Apple are walled gardens. Amazon is working diligently to build out their own ecosystem to leverage their content and retail channel data for a holistic offering. And Apple keeps user data very close to the chest, constantly limiting its utility for themselves and advertisers. So what is identity resolution doing about it? The Trade Desk announced their solution; Unified ID 2.0, which promises to leverage email authenticated identity for a truly scaled solution for publishers via Javascript through Prebid. By handing over UID2.0 to an independent unbiased organization like Prebid, The Trade Desk is creating instant scale and trust in their solution. Unauthenticated Traffic Solutions Unlike ATS, unauthenticated traffic solutions do not rely on a log-in to identify a user, but they also don’t rely on third-party cookies. Instead, unauthenticated solutions (UATS) leverage their existing streams of real-time data through Javascript on publisher sites or an SDK (software development kit used by apps). The type of information UATS solutions can collect via Javascript or SDK vary, but it can include IP address, user agent and device level info. But being able to read this information at the point of entry to a website does not make a quality identifier. The best unauthenticated solutions will have the ability to set or ingest this information into a unique ID through an infrastructure with incredibly fast speed that can process trillions of anonymous data signals across multiple channels and devices. And even more so, be able to interpret those signals into a profile using machine learning– all at the moment a user enters a domain. It sounds complicated because it is, but it also has a lot of potential. The identity space cannot rest solely on authenticated traffic solutions, because, as you can see, it could limit ownership and operability to just a few power players/walled gardens. This doesn’t help the larger ecosystem monetize and personalize ad inventory. The right unauthenticated solution, however, can unify cross-device individuals and households at scale, because they’re integrated on the broadest number of publishers/SDKs across platforms, have the best algorithms to build confident connections between identifiers, and are universally transactable across the most common sell and demand side platforms. Think of it as the perfect partner- speaking a common language that everyone in the ecosystem understands and acts on. Today more than twenty cookieless identifiers are available in market for the ad ecosystem, and Google hasn’t even announced a date of deprecation. It’s important to be on the lookout for differentiators like scale and precision. Most importantly, choosing a truly cross-device partner will be key, especially as more digital devices and IDs grow in adoption, like CTV has this past year. Taking advantage of both What we will come to find, once the third-party cookie is obsolete, is that choosing just one of these solution types, or partners, will be a disadvantage. The more the industry comes together to collaborate on solutions, the more apparent it is that both of them have value, and thus employing both solutions will give marketers the best opportunities. Tapad, now part of Experian, recently announced the launch of Switchboard; a module within our identity solution; The Tapad Graph, to create this agnostic interoperability for identifiers of all types, and choice and control for the ad tech vendors and marketers who want them. By instantly creating the ability to partner with multiple solutions, Tapad + Experian is ensuring that all use cases for the third-party cookie live on in our cookieless future. Get in touch
Tapad launches global privacy-safe solution to provide continuity in the absence of third-party cookies Switchboard, a module within The Tapad Graph, will connect emerging cookieless identifiers to traditional IDs, creating a more holistic view of the consumer and driving value exchange within the advertising ecosystem Tapad, part of Experian, a global leader in cross-device digital identity resolution, and a part of Experian, announced today the launch of Switchboard, a first-of-its-kind solution to help navigate the evolving cookieless landscape. Switchboard, a module within The Tapad Graph, will operate as a global, privacy-safe solution to provide continuity in the absence of third-party cookies by connecting new cookieless identifiers to traditional digital IDs for a comprehensive view of consumers and their digital touchpoints. Switchboard will enable interoperability across the growing number of these digital identifiers and the value exchange between publishers, content creators and consumers. Leading digital identity solutions partnering with Tapad, part of Experian at the launch of Switchboard include Unified ID 2.0, ID5, Lotame Panorama ID, BritePool, Retargetly IDx and Audigent Halo ID. Tapad, part of Experian plans to expand support to additional identity solutions on an ongoing basis. In addition to these identity solutions, early partners across the ecosystem include The Trade Desk, Amobee, Martin, ShareThis, Eyeota and Catalina. “This diverse group of launch partners and testing customers will prove that Switchboard is an important tenet for the future of identity resolution. We’re excited to be proactive in our approach to give marketers time to adapt new solutions and test their function in tandem with the third-party cookie, while continuing to give our customers flexibility and control,” said Mark Connon, General Manager of Tapad, part of Experian. “Facilitating access and usage of 1st party identifiers is crucial to help marketers prepare for the cookieless future. Thanks to Switchboard, ID5's cookieless IDs will be available to a wider audience of brands and agencies and enable them to run effective, data-driven campaigns beyond the third-party cookie,” said Mathieu Roche Co-founder & CEO of ID5. Switchboard provides value across the marketing and advertising ecosystem as the need for the ability to support multiple cookieless ID’s across ad tech increases throughout 2021. With a decade of expertise creating digital identity resolution products, Tapad, part of Experian is poised to solve this challenge through innovation and quality, privacy-safe data-driven solutions. “Interoperability is paramount for brand marketers, agencies, publishers and platforms if we want to support an open and free Internet and break free of the stranglehold of walled gardens,” said Pierre Diennet, Global Partnerships at Lotame. ”Lotame Panorama ID’s participation in Switchboard reflects our steadfast commitment to collaborating across and within the industry and providing value to all of its players.” “As advertisers continue to contemplate the future of identity, Amobee is proud to partner with Tapad, part of Experian on this next-generation solution to provide a comprehensive view of consumers,” says Bryan Everett, Senior Vice President of Global Business Development at Amobee. “With the imminent loss of cookies, advertisers must think creatively in order to respectfully engage consumers in a privacy-compliant way and Switchboard can play an important role in addressing their respective identity needs.” Tapad, part of Experian is welcoming identity solutions and Tapad Graph customer participation in Switchboard throughout 2021. Stayed tuned for more updates and information on Switchboard in the coming months. Get in touch