Google decided to keep internet cookies active, ending a debate that had lasted just over five years. Over this time, many solutions have been devised to ensure the proper functioning of advertising and marketing structures within organizations, the safe browsing of users, and the consumer experience, who navigate the internet and are impacted by marketing and advertising actions based on these tertiary data for years.
Despite these efforts coming from various fronts and the end of the cookie issue, the truly satisfactory solution for all parties did not come from cookies but rather from the adoption of primary data collection (first-party data) by various organizations. Primary data is essentially something provided by the user themselves. In other words, they are more reliable, more detailed information provided voluntarily, with the user knowing what they are or are not disclosing about themselves to each organization. With data collected directly from consumers, not only marketing and advertising actions have gained new life, but other tools have been able to and continue to gain space to develop.
This is the case of generative AIs applied to conversational contexts, which essentially represents one of the key aspects of customer engagement today. Training an AI is extremely complex, but doing it with lower quality data is much more complicated and can continue to generate noise that negatively impacts the user experience.
The truth is that currently, maintaining cookies is not a decision that will significantly impact companies that are already more committed to creating superior customer experiences, nor those that want to create and train truly revolutionary AI models to assist in their communications.
The integration of AI into the context of engagement and the use of primary data are central issues in a true reformulation of the paradigm of communication between brands and consumers. The supposed end of cookies accelerated this, which is positive, and even if cookies remain, it has already been established that change is necessary, prioritizing higher quality data.
Only 16% of companies strongly agree that they have the data they need to understand their customers, and only 19% strongly agree that they have a comprehensive profile of their customers (Twilio Customer Engagement Report 2024). This data gap should not be taken lightly, and we are at a moment where there is an opportunity to address it in a way that will forever transform marketing and advertising.
It may be that, at least initially, collecting primary data is something that increases costs and is a more arduous task. It is really a complex job that takes time. Despite that, the current scenario proves that we need this restructuring. Third-party cookies will continue to exist, but companies that increasingly respect the user experience will become those with real differentiators, with better-trained and more efficient AIs, and those that can say "we respect your data" with 100% certainty and customer approval – the main focus of this relationship.
This behavior will increasingly become an important differentiator until it is understood as the real way to compete in the market. That's why my advice to organizations is: start investing in collecting primary data, invest in training your AIs with it, and focus on the customer. This will determine your future and your survival in a time that is no longer as distant as it may seem.
