The digital landscape is evolving rapidly, and 2025 is likely to be the consumer crunch point, where people's trust in brands gets rapidly diluted by AI. Elsewhere, we are likely to see the effects of the new data laws and an increase in social shopping via Tiktok, Instagram and Facebook.
Artificial intelligence (AI) continues to quietly reshape the world, creeping into our everyday lives with incremental changes. It's not just ChatGPT - it's the AI bot on the helpdesk, or a star-spangled button offering to rewrite your subject line.
Alongside this is a decline in trust by consumers - if they think AI has been used to write a description or create a comment on a post, they are much less likely to engage with it. On top of that, AI is in danger of being the snake that eats itself. As AI content becomes more commonplace on the web, your general chatbot will retrieve more AI results to train itself, when you ask for it's input.
On top of that, the rate of innovation in the AI models is slowing down (there's a limit to the amount of data you can crunch) and industry pundits think the bubble may burst, thanks to poisonous mix of AI copyright lawsuits and few high-value applications for the technology. AI hallucinations continue to be a problem.
My prediction: We will see widespread, shallow use of AI across the web, with the more companies training their own AI bots on their own in-house data for speed and accuracy. Brands will move towards social proof (Look! A human is responding to this in real time!) as a way to stay connected to their customers.
With AI cheap and commonplace, brands that can offer an authentic, human-centred experience will have the edge. Community groups, forums and masterminds will gain ground as networking comes back in fashion. Brands that can share high-quality research, expertise and and connections will have the edge.
My prediction: Brands will be looking for active communities and influencer partnerships where they can increase their trust quotient through direct contact.
Data privacy regulations are tightening, with the EU AI Act leading the charge. The aim is to prevent AI systemic risk - so whilst individual businesses may be exempt, the platforms they play on will have to comply. The new Act sets out risk levels, human oversight and risk levels, with the legislation to be enforced by the end of 2025 for general-purpose AI.
The UK's Data Accessibility Act: letting information flow
This is still going through Parliament at the time of writing, so I am commenting on the Bill as it's been proposed. The plan is to ease some of the GDPR restrictions, so things such data sharing between NHS trusts can happen more quickly, potentially saving lives. Researchers will be able to create more mass datasets without causing privacy concerns and finally, the UK will remove some of the cookie-tracking requirements, so website no longer need all those pop-ups. You still need consent for cookies that tracks user behaviour, but not for analytics.
My prediction: The conversation's just started on AI and we can expect more headlines on the big systems that use it in 2025. On the plus side, we will be able to browse websites again, without mass pop-ups.
Short-form video platforms like TikTok and Instagram Reels are captivating audiences with bite-sized content and this will only grow in 2025. On top of that (thanks to AI) voice-ennabled phone instructions on Android and Apple is making voice search more attractive.
My prediction: You already optimize for mobile. Next up is optimizing for voice search as people increasingly ask their inbox assistants to summarize emails or find deals in their Promotions tab. This will mean paying attention to you headline structure, alt text and call-to-action text.
Did you know that Ebay has bought Etsy? Or that Amazon Prime now has shoppable ads? or that social commerce profits have risen by 13% in the past year?
These all point to a wide trend of catching customers when they are playing. Etsy sellers were the early adopters of social commerce, integrating their products into their social feeds, rather than driving their customers straight to the main website. The fact the auction giant has bought it speaks volume for the people-to-people model. TikTok and Instagram both developed their storefront options in 2024 and Facebook offers live shoping experiences and the chance to target Meta ads at people who are close to your physcial store. Meanwhile, Amazon allows people to shop during their favourite shows, blurring entertainment with profits.
My prediction: Netflix will follow Amazon with shoppable ads, whilst influencers and communities will host more high-profile events, akin to virtual reality runway shops. Everyone will have to watch out for undue advertising to minors and we can expect more enforcement of social media age restrictions.
2025 will put businesses at the sharp end for ethical and thoughtful use of AI, advertising and search. I think we will see a step back in the way brands interact with consumers and email will continue to play a defining role in the way we communicate with them.