DMEXCO 2025: Generative AI is defining a new era of marketing

Didn’t make it to Cologne for DMEXCO 2025? Or maybe you did, but couldn’t catch every session. Either way, here’s your quick guide to the big generative AI shifts every marketer is talking about: zero UI, authentic personalization, and the rise of agentic systems...

Courage is the key to the future

Those who want to actively shape the digital world must seize opportunities and drive innovation without hesitation. And as Europe’s leading platform for digital business, technology, and marketing, DMEXCO sets the agenda for what comes next.

This year’s theme, “Be Bold. Move Forward,” challenged marketers to embrace these changes with confidence. For Microsoft Advertising, the event was a chance to show what’s possible when technology fades into the background and creativity is shaped by diverse voices.

One theme stood out across all sessions at the event: The future of digital engagement is conversational, personalized, and agentic...

The biggest ideas from DMEXCO 2025

From invisible interfaces to inclusive generative AI, the sessions at DMEXCO showed how marketers can turn new innovations into stronger customer connections and measurable business impact.

Welcome to zero UI, where conversations take center stage

Tor Thompson, GM of Global Business Planning at Microsoft Advertising, set the tone for DMEXCO with a forward-looking keynote on how human interaction with brands is undergoing a rapid paradigm shift.

Driessen demonstrated how Microsoft Advertising’s Market Research Team along with Pandora and their agency, dentsu used Copilot to create search ad copy infused with inclusive emotional intelligence (EQ) insights that resonates better with individuals and reflects customers’ reasons for buying that category of products.

The result? Higher purchase intent and deeper brand loyalty along with a desire to have a relationship with Pandora. One research participant noted, “It makes me feel important and special, as if the tagline is targeted directly at me. It makes it seem like the jewelry offered is a part of me.”

Driessen’s storyline underscored a key point: The next wave of personalization must combine emotional intelligence with generative AI. To reach and resonate with people, you need to understand them—and AI can help deliver on that promise when trained with empathy and inclusive advertising insights that enable advanced personalization.

To learn more about how inclusion powers personalization and can be a major growth driver for your brand, check out our Future of AI Personalization blog series:

• Part 1: Your guide to advanced AI personalization in advertising
• Part 2: Reimagining audience engagement with emotional intelligence
• Part 3: Driving business growth by being unmistakably authentic with audience representation

Turning vision into action to shape the future of advertising

Generative AI is already changing how people search, shop, and interact with brands alongside the “zero UI” shift in web behavior towards a less screen-based environment. DMEXCO 2025 sent a powerful message: Marketers who embrace these tools now will be the ones shaping tomorrow’s customer experiences.

We invite you to join us in continuing the conversation on LinkedIn or by joining our upcoming holiday season webinar. Let’s explore how generative AI can elevate your brand’s impact by reaching out to our team today.