Growth marketing guide: Data Foundations

We’re in the midst of an AI revolution — and advertising is evolving right alongside it.

If you’re a digital marketer, you’ve probably been experiencing signal loss for years. New privacy regulations and platform changes continue to emerge across the ecosystem, such as Chrome’s updated approach to third-party cookies that elevates user choice. To stay on top of these shifts, you need to rethink some of the ways you reach your customers and measure results.

AI can help you transition into this new era, so you can continue engaging with the right audiences and achieve accurate measurement. But AI is only as good as the data that goes into it. With less observable signals available across the web, it’s important to embrace the innovations of new privacy-preserving technologies, like the Privacy Sandbox, and invest in high-quality, consented first-party data to get the best results.

We built this hub to equip you with the answers and resources you’ll need to prepare for — and succeed — in the AI era. It’ll take some work, but the payoff will be worth it.

Below, you’ll find guidance for executives and practitioners, along with answers to your most-asked questions and examples of durable marketing strategies in action.

We’ll update this page regularly with the latest information, so be sure to bookmark it as a go-to resource.

Executive guide for growth in the age of AI

As a CMO or marketing decision-maker, you’re under more pressure than ever to deliver profitable growth in the AI era, and ongoing signal loss requires you to explore new approaches.

There is no stand-alone fix in this shifting landscape; instead, it requires a combination of strategies to power performance. Think of these as building blocks that when used together will help you remain competitive.

Invest in foundational measurement and audience solutions that amplify high-quality, consented first-party data. Focus on delivering helpful experiences that create a fair value exchange with your customers at every interaction. Then, build and activate your data by using solutions that power AI and deliver long-term performance to your business.
Partner with ad tech providers that prioritise privacy-preserving technologies. As expectations around privacy continue to increase, 85% of users globally want brands to invest in these technologies. If you don’t, trust in your brand may be at risk. Google’s ad platforms continue to invest in privacy-preserving solutions, including Chrome’s Privacy Sandbox or data processing techniques like differential privacy and confidential computing, so that you can keep using familiar tools.
Embrace AI across your measurement and audience strategies to maximise growth. With a high-quality, consented first-party data foundation and privacy-preserving signals, like those from the Privacy Sandbox, AI keeps your marketing optimised and measurable, even where there are gaps. Google AI works for you behind the scenes, continuously learning from the signals and data you feed it to help multiply your ROI and drive business growth.

To help you navigate this dynamic landscape, we’ve developed a set of questions to guide you, your teams, and your partners to understand the right principles for growth in the AI era. Download the guide below.

Implementation guide for practitioners

As a marketing practitioner, you’re likely focused on implementing an approach that will help you grow. We’ll break down these steps for you here.

Our privacy readiness guide dives deep into the AI Essentials and walks you through critical actions to supercharge your performance today. It consists of three key steps:

Build a resilient ads infrastructure by implementing sitewide tagging, enhanced conversions, and more.
Measure and attribute your conversions accurately with Google Analytics and other measurement tools.
Engage with relevant customers by adopting Customer Match and optimised targeting, and by using Performance Max.

Your solution set will leverage several sources, including Google AI, consented first-party data, and privacy-preserving technologies like the Privacy Sandbox APIs. Leading marketers are already putting this comprehensive strategy to work. The sooner you do, the more prepared you’ll be for a future of AI-powered performance.

Frequently asked questions

Still unsure about what to expect and prepare for? Below, we’ve answered common questions we’re hearing from advertisers.

What is Chrome’s new approach to third-party cookies? Chrome shared an update to their plans for third-party cookies. Instead of deprecating third-party cookies, it plans to elevate user choice, with details and timing to be finalised. Chrome will continue to invest in improving Privacy Sandbox APIs, and will continue collaborating with the ecosystem and regulators to build a more private web that supports publishers, connects businesses with customers, and offers free access to a wide range of content.
Is Google’s ads strategy changing in light of Chrome’s updated approach? Chrome’s proposal offers a new experience that enables users to choose. Our Ads teams will continue to prioritise users’ privacy while helping our partners reach their business goals through a suite of solutions. That’s why we will continue embracing a strategy focused on three pillars: AI, first-party data, and privacy-preserving technologies, including those from the Privacy Sandbox. We will use a combination of signals derived from these pillars, alongside other signals when available, to power measurement and audience engagement solutions.
As an advertiser, do I still need to adopt new solutions if third-party cookies may not fully go away? Yes, adopting foundational solutions can help you drive growth and stay ahead of continued changes to the landscape across the web. If you’ve already started implementing these solutions, rest assured, your efforts will be worth it. If you haven’t started yet, the best time is now. The sooner you implement these solutions, the more effectively Google AI will work to optimise your campaigns.
Will Google’s ads platforms continue to integrate with the Privacy Sandbox? Yes. Technologies like the Privacy Sandbox APIs are and remain incredibly important for the modern marketer’s toolkit. Google Ads’ recent results show overall progress in driving performance in the absence of third-party cookies when using a combination of privacy-preserving signals. And, like all new technologies, we expect performance using these APIs to improve over time with increased industry adoption and ongoing optimisation.
Should advertisers implement the Privacy Sandbox APIs? No, advertisers will not need to directly integrate with the Privacy Sandbox APIs. Google’s ads teams will be doing the heavy lifting of building APIs into our existing solutions, and we’ll gradually ramp up the Privacy Sandbox signals within our audience and measurement offerings in environments where third-party cookies are not available. That means the campaign management experience should not change substantially for advertisers.

Foundational growth in action

Marketers who get ahead of privacy shifts tend to stay ahead. To inspire your organisation’s shift, here are additional resources and success stories from marketers putting privacy-centric advertising strategies to work.

Learn from privacy power players across the industry about how they’re helping their teams and organisations build for the future.
Discover The North Face’s approach to sitewide tagging, which uses Google Tag Manager to capture the full spectrum of consumer behaviour, turn those signals into insights, and then measure the behaviour.
Explore how Kia connects and activates its first-party data with tools like Google Analytics and Customer Match.