AI and automation drive companies in digital: what does this mean for brands in Brazil?

In the horizon of 2025, the world marketing market is experiencing a turnaround. According to updated projections of WPP Media, global spending on advertising is expected to grow 8.8% this year, reaching about US$ 1.14 trillion, a number revised upwards after a period of macroeconomic uncertainties and thanks largely to the momentum given by artificial intelligence tools and the acceleration of digital media. At the same time, the report of the global agency Dentsu indicates growth of 7.9% in investments in digital advertising in 2025, with this market expected to represent about 68.4% of the total. 

In this context, a clear opportunity arises for companies that master automation, CRM and messaging: by combining data, technology and AI, these organizations can compete not only for advertising money volume, but efficiency and scale with much more assertiveness.

Who sees this trend closely is Luiz Santos, founder of Unnichat, CRM and automation platform via official WhatsApp API. With extensive experience in digital marketing, launches and conversation automation, he notes how intelligent automation can make marketing investments more efficient and competitive. For Luiz, “sometimes success is not in how much you spend on media, but in how you talk to those who matter, with data, context and personalization, with economy and” scale.

The rise of global digital advertising spending reflects a structural transformation: marketing is moving from mass and disruption models to data and context-driven models. Digital platforms, social networks, search engines, messaging apps, concentrate traffic and exhibit increasing performance.

AI is not limited to ad serving: it enables sophisticated automations, personalization at scale, unification of own data (first PARTy data) and accurate measurement of results. According to a report by local consultancy cited by PwC, companies that strategically incorporate AI can achieve productivity gains between 20% and 30%, as well as accelerate time to market and increase revenue. 

For brands in Brazil, often with smaller budgets than large corporations, this combination of automation + data + AI represents a chance to compete on an equal footing, with leaner structures and greater agility.

With the boom of digital marketing, the challenge is no longer just “make noise” and became “ser relevant”. In this context, CRM 3.0, that is, customer management supported by its own data, automation and AI, emerges as a competitive differential. It allows you to follow the entire customer journey: from the origin of the lead, through interactions, to conversion and after-sales, with personalized and orchestrated communication.

Automations via message channels and integration with CRM bring advantages such as: 1:1 conversations at scale, precise segmentation, relationship persistence, agility in response, nutrition and reactivation of leads, all with data that belongs to the brand. As the expert in digital marketing observes: “With well-structured automation, you turn the lead into a relationship, not into statistics. This changes the logic of conversion”

In addition, in a market where competition for attention grows, the ability to accelerate processes and personalize communication can be the watershed between being just one more and standing out.

For Brazilian companies, some recommendations are crucial:

• Invest in technology and automation, preferably with solutions that deal directly with own data and official API.
  
• Map the customer journey, segment audiences and build custom flows in CRM + automation.
  
• Use AI as an ally, but always with clear governance, clean data, consent and transparency.
  
• Measure results with metrics beyond clicks, consider conversion, retention, engagement and value per customer.
  
• Combine paid media, automation and ongoing relationship to maximize efficiency at lower cost.
  

For Luiz Santos, this is the big turn: “Today, the dispute is not for those who buy more media, but for those who convert better with less noise. Well-applied automation gives this competitive advantage to those who prepare,” concludes.