Marketers turn to AI for real-world solutions, not just future speculation

Marketers at the Possible conference are shifting their focus from AI’s theoretical future to its practical applications in today’s fragmented digital landscape. With Google continuing to permit third-party cookies while other browsers have eliminated them, advertisers are increasingly looking to AI for solutions to audience mapping, fraud detection, and content optimization challenges. This represents a significant evolution in how the marketing industry views AI technology—less as a shiny new object and more as a utility tool to solve immediate business problems.

The big picture: AI discussions at Possible centered on solving real-world marketing challenges rather than theoretical applications, marking a more mature phase in the technology’s adoption cycle.

• Ravi Patel, CEO of SWYM, noted that brands are using AI to work with “smaller portions of audiences” rather than “buying audiences blindly.”
• With Google Chrome maintaining third-party cookies while Safari and Firefox have eliminated them, AI is becoming crucial for navigating this fragmented tracking landscape.

Key applications: Marketers are focusing AI efforts on operational efficiency, content creation, and conversion optimization rather than speculative future uses.

• Jon Halvorson of Mondelez highlighted generative AI’s value in improving content quality while reducing costs, noting that “we can take our content to the next level by ultimately improving the quality, taking the cost of these incremental assets down to zero.”
• E-commerce conversion represents another significant opportunity, with Halvorson pointing out that even established brands like Ritz and Oreo don’t convert 50% of product page visitors to sales.

Practical utility: Even in panels not explicitly focused on AI, the technology emerged as a solution for tackling industry-wide challenges.

• During a panel on inventory quality, AI was discussed as a tool for fraud detection, identifying bot traffic, and flagging harmful content.
• Tyler Romasco of OpenX observed that conference attendees were primarily thinking about AI for “efficiency and operations” and “strategic innovations.”

Industry perspective: The conversation around AI has matured from speculative excitement to pragmatic implementation, focusing on measurable outcomes.

• Companies are prioritizing AI applications that deliver immediate business value rather than experimental use cases.
• This shift suggests the marketing industry is moving past the initial hype cycle toward more sustainable, results-driven AI adoption.