CES was about a month ago, which means our human brains have had time to process all of the conversations, insights and innovative technology, and reflect on what we’ve learned. We spoke with Deborah Golden, Chief Innovation Officer at Deloitte, to compile the most important takeaways for marketing executives.
Ubiquitous AI
Generative AI was everywhere at CES 2025. And it was last year, too. But at this year’s annual conference the focus on AI was about going beyond just being an analytical tool and using AI to forecast, spot trends and suggest new markets and audiences, said Deborah Golden, Chief Innovation Officer at management consulting firm Deloitte.
“AI should serve as your ultimate strategic advisor,” Golden said. “It’s not just about helping marketers work smarter but enabling them to think bigger. And when you start to put that hat on, you then move into things beyond operational efficiencies.”
Operational efficiency—where AI was at in 2024—is now the low hanging fruit that marketers should be implementing today. And that entails using AI to streamline workflows, optimize ad spend and manage campaigns more efficiently.
Emotive, Hyper-personalized Marketing
In 2025, chief marketing officers need to use AI to think about providing an emotive, hyper-personalized customer journey. The technology solutions at CES that impressed Golden were ones that could address the more human side in marketing and adapt to consumer emotions in real time.
“How do I create more customized experiences with individuals so that I can actually better tweak that marketing experience or the way that I’m approaching them and interacting with them?” she said.
Marketing Powered With Multimodal AI
Dovetailing with this, multimodal AI was another popular CES technology solution that Golden flagged as game changing for marketers. While marketers are familiar with artificial intelligence that processes text, speech, images and videos, often this is thought of in silos, Golden said. Layering this all together gives a better and more holistic understanding of the customer, which marketers can then use to craft a more personalized campaign.
“You don’t have to just think of one mode of communication,” Golden said. “You have a completely interactive campaign where you’re not just analyzing what a customer has to say. You can do it via tone, expression, visual cues and again, back to crafting a message and an experience that feels truly human.”
One example is using an AI system to create ad copy. Previously, a marketer would typically use a text-based AI system to do this. But a multimodal AI system could write ad copy based on text, video preferences, what consumers post on social media, videos, voice interaction from their television, among other inputs. The AI could then create a marketing message, such as a video in real-time based on user preferences.
“So, look at how I responded to something for the last six months: Go check out my posts, go check out my videos, go check out my this. Now answer a question based on those preferences,” Golden said. “There were a number of solutions that were already doing that on market.”
Enhanced AR and VR
Another top marketing takeaway from CES was the emergence of immersive retail experiences powered by spatial computing and AI-enhanced augmented reality and virtual reality.
While virtual stores are not new, the experience is richer. For example, a consumer could try on a shirt in virtual reality while the space around her is her home environment. It could also feature other virtual products to interact with.
“Those tools can unlock entirely new ways to engage, inspire and ultimately convert your consumer,” she said.
One standout example includes life-size holograms that marketers could use for product launches, virtual events, Q&As with brand ambassador or another similar event.
Gamified Ads, Privacy Please
Golden also noticed an increase in the number of technology solutions that showcased gamification and live-event ads. These products help marketers create dynamic content that relate to the live event, create promotions in real time and adjust to consumer sentiment based around the live event and audience demographics.
“Looking at how to take advantage from a marketing perspective on real-time audience interaction is going to redefine how brands leverage streaming content for things like promotion and immediate engagement,” Golden said.
As always, a constant undertone to these topics is trust and privacy around consumer data. Brands need to be transparent in how they collect data and what it is used for, Golden said.
“Consumers are becoming savvier and the brands that thrive will be the ones that show they respect privacy and prioritize ethical practices,” she said.
At the end of the day, the largest CES takeaway for Golden is that marketers need to think of AI as more than a tool and start thinking about how to use AI in a much bigger way.
“I don’t look at it as something that is replacing; it’s a collaborator. It’s not about optimizing processes or analyzing data anymore. It’s actively co-creating with marketers,” she said.
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