AI could help advertisers recover from loss of third-party cookies

Options for targeting digital advertising in a way that doesn't rely on cookies are increasing, thanks to advances in predictive analytics and AI that will ultimately lessen the current dominance of Google, Facebook, and other large-scale content aggregators. Google announced earlier this month that it will no longer allow third-party cookies to collect data via its Chrome browser. Many companies have historically relied on those cookies to better target their digital advertising, as the cookies enable digital ad networks and social media sites to create a profile of an end user without knowing specifically who that individual is. While that approach doesn't necessarily breach anyone's privacy, it does give many users the feeling that some entity is tracking the sites they visit in a way that makes them uncomfortable. Providers of other browsers, such as Safari from Apple and the open source Firefox browser, have already abandoned third-party cookies.