Emerging Trends in Digital Marketing – 2025 : AI Integration, Privacy-First Advertising, and the Rise of Social Video & Personalization

Abstract

The digital marketing landscape is undergoing a rapid transformation in 2024–2025, driven by advances in Artificial Intelligence (AI), evolving user behaviour, regulatory pressure on data privacy, and shifts in content consumption patterns. This paper reviews key contemporary trends — including generative-AI-enabled content creation and personalization, the transition to cookieless advertising, short-form video and social commerce dominance, the changing face of influencer marketing, and the growing importance of first-party data and privacy-first strategies. We analyse how each trend reshapes marketing strategies, consumer engagement, and advertising measurement. The paper also explores emerging challenges — such as ethical considerations, data transparency, and measurement limitations — and suggests strategic directions for marketers and researchers. The findings highlight that successful digital marketing in 2025 and beyond requires a blend of technological adoption, ethical data practices, and human-centred content strategies.