• by Laurie Sullivan , Staff Writer @lauriesullivan, December 26, 2023

It has been a struggle educating marketers across the advertising industry on artificial intelligence, as well as Google’s Chrome Privacy Sandbox.

As 2024 rolls in and AI-related technologies and Google’s initiative roll out, many believe next year will present major changes and many opportunities for the industry.

Anthony Katsur, CEO of IAB Tech Lab, has a long history in the advertising industry focused on technology. He’s a board member of PureCars and advisory member at Kerv Interactive, and worked at Rubicon Project, MediaMatch, and DoubleClick, among others, throughout his career.

MediaDailyNews caught up with Katsur to learn more about his thoughts on how AI will change media buying, the most likely technology advancements in 2024, and the deprecation of cookies on Google Chrome. 

Media Daily News:  How will AI change media buying in 2024?

Katsur:  AI is not new to media buying. The programmatic ecosystem has employed basic machine learning -- a subset of AI -- since the launch of the first DSPs and SSPs. But as data storage and CPU processing costs continue to drop via the cloud, more advanced forms of AI leveraging neural networks, deep learning, and employing reinforced learning techniques, amongst other advanced AI techniques, will significantly deepen its influence on media buying.

It will refine audience targeting to more intelligent cohorts and look-alike models and utilize near real-time optimization to adjust strategies for better performance and cost-effectiveness.

More innovative predictive analytics powered by AI will offer foresight into trends and market shifts, guiding proactive decision-making. Integrating voice and visual search, AI will enhance ad placements and formats while assisting in content creation through suggested variations and refinements.

AI will empower advertisers with advanced tools to reach audiences more effectively and tailor ad experiences to individual preferences. While this will not all occur in 2024, we will see advancements in these areas.

MDN:  What are the most likely technology advancements to support advertising in 2024, and why?

Katsur:  Several technological advancements are poised to bolster advertising efforts. Diverse addressability solutions such as RampID, Neustar, and UID2 will gain prominence as alternatives to traditional identifiers like cookies, ensuring more robust targeting capabilities.

AI and machine learning will continue to evolve, enabling better audience segmentation, dynamic ad placements, and more precise campaign performance predictions.

Consolidating and standardizing audience IDs and measurement across streaming platforms will streamline advertising efforts in the dynamic realm of online video and audio content.

MDN:  Which ad technology or words will become obsolete (or fade out) in 2024?

Katsur:  In 2024, traditional ad technologies reliant on third-party cookies and deterministic tracking methods will face obsolescence. With the imminent demise of cookies and the push for enhanced privacy measures, technologies solely dependent on outdated identifiers will fade out.

Terms associated with singular tracking methods, such as "cookie-based targeting," will become antiquated as the industry shifts toward more diversified addressability solutions.

MDN:  Will Google Sandbox have a higher success rate compared with browser cookies?

Katsur:  This is highly unlikely based on the Tech Lab's current analysis, which is still in process via the Privacy Sandbox Task Force created by the Tech Lab earlier this year.

The Google Privacy Sandbox represents a significant shift in addressing user privacy concerns compared to browser cookies. The practical implications of Privacy Sandbox Protected Audience APIs on programmatic buying remain obscure, and much of the industry has only begun to test them.

The advent of protected audience APIs signals a radical shift in programmatic auctions, fundamentally altering functionalities integral to current practices.

Aspects like frequency capping, video advertising, audience creation, impression counting, and more are severely affected, degraded, or in some cases, intentionally unsupported, necessitating a fundamental understanding for all stakeholders engaged in programmatic advertising within Chrome.

A wide swath of the industry does not understand Chrome's Privacy Sandbox as well as they think they do.

There is a general lack of preparedness across the industry globally. This is why the Tech Lab created the Privacy Sandbox Task Force, which will publish its gap analysis in Q1 of 2024.