CES 2025 showcased new advancements in AI, quantum computing capabilities and plenty of drama around the biggest social platforms—all set to shape marketing and advertising strategies for the year ahead. 

Ad Age has distilled the buzz on the Las Vegas strip into 10 takeaways, drawn from marquee keynotes, insider panels, exclusive interviews and—of course—the ever-bustling showroom floor.

Whether you skipped out on Vegas this year or just returned and need a refresher, here are the top 10 takeaways for marketers from CES 2025.

Agentic AI was everywhere

If CES is any indication, agentic AI is really going to make its mark on the ad industry in 2025. The technology, which can execute specific tasks autonomously, was everywhere in Las Vegas—on panels, in keynotes, plastered on signage and mentioned in seemingly every conversation. The discussion is all about how agentic AI will be built into workflows to automate tasks both menial and high-level. Even Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang waxed poetic about AI agents in his CES keynote, one of the conference’s most anticipated events. 

X is still grappling to reach advertisers

X still has a ways to go to convince advertisers to return in full since the mass exodus stemming from Elon Musk’s 2022 takeover, WPP CEO Mark Read told Ad Age. This struggle was made staggeringly clear during an awkward moment at a Wednesday morning event at The Wynn. 

Linda Yaccarino, CEO of X, spoke on stage with Shelly Palmer, pitching advertisers about how X was a “healthier and more factual” space for brands to advertise. Not 10 minutes after Yaccarino left the stage, surprise guest Mark Cuban undermined her entire effort, reminding the marketers in the room that X was rampant with unchecked content, including porn and antisemitism, and that only Musk reserved final say over how the platform would be moderated.

“If you truly want free speech, is that what you want?” Cuban asked.

TikTok proceeding business as usual

On the final day of CES, the Supreme Court began hearing TikTok’s appeal against its forthcoming ban. But you may never have known that such an existential moment had begun for the platform given its ordinary presence in Las Vegas. TikTok executives presented at the Aria on business-as-usual topics including search advertising and measurement, and the platform issued a trends report timed to the conference.

The air of normalcy appears to be making an impact on marketers. According to a media executive who spoke to Ad Age on background at CES, brands are relaxed about the situation and operating under the belief that TikTok isn’t going anywhere.

Also read: Ad metrics that matter most in 2024

Thank CES for proposed Omnicom-IPG merger

Those who are skeptical that CES is still a place to do serious dealmaking need only look to one of the biggest potential deals in recent advertising history: the proposed Omnicom-IPG merger. John Wren, chairman and CEO of Omnicom Group, told Ad Age that it was at CES last year that acquisition talks between the two companies first began. A fortuitous connection at an evening event kickstarted the conversation, and 11 months later, the two giants announced their plan to combine, Wren said. 

Elon Musk made an appearance (sort of) 

A couple of Musk-owned companies (X and Starlink) were on the ground at CES, and while the man himself did not step foot in Las Vegas, he still made a virtual appearance via a livestream conversation on X with Mark Penn, chairman and CEO of Stagwell. The 30-minute chat on Wednesday night featured Penn sitting in a Las Vegas restaurant, joined by clients and Yaccarino just out of frame, asking Musk about all things technology, including space, AI and self-driving cars.

Meta’s reversal causes concern for ad giant CEOs

Speaking with Ad Age at CES, WPP’s  Read and Omnicom’s Wren illustrated how Meta’s reversal of its moderation policy—which it announced during the conference—was causing concern in the ad industry.

Read said that a number of clients he had spoken with were shocked and made nervous by the reversal and are still trying to understand what it could mean for their social media strategies.

“It’s a seismic shift for Meta,” Read said.

Meanwhile, Wren pondered whether Meta would even be able to implement its community notes system in non-U.S. countries, such as those belonging to the EU, where stricter guidelines are enforced on social media companies.

Quieter Sphere still plays a role

The Sphere held a quieter presence at this year’s CES compared to last year’s event, when the venue was still new and a source of dazzlement for the ad industry. Nonetheless, brands including Delta still took advantage of the arena. Delta held its keynote presentation at The Sphere, in which CEO Ed Bastian delivered an immersive address on stage, followed by a performance from Lenny Kravitz. And the exosphere—the venue’s LED-powered billboard exterior—once again served ads to the Strip, for brands including Delta and Intel.

New marketing technologies in a post-AI world

Marketers at CES caught a glimpse of futuristic technologies that could be on the menu in a post-AI world, in which seemingly everything is supercharged by powerful AI. Quantum computing, for example, could go hand-in-hand with AI, allowing marketers to optimize campaigns at a far faster clip, said Scott Likens, chief AI engineer for PwC. Omnicom Media Group also held a panel on quantum computing and marketing, featuring Google Cloud’s Anil Jain and UCLA physicist Prineha Narang.

And holograms may be poised to play a larger role thanks to advancements in communication on offer from generative AI. PwC’s Likens was out at CES promoting his company’s tie-up with hologram developer Proto. Another hologram company, Holoconnects, was on the showroom floor, fresh off a partnership with Best Western, which has placed its machines in 15 hotel lobbies in Scandinavia, where they serve as resources for guests.

AI startups still largely absent

Despite all the AI fanfare at CES, big-name startups such as OpenAI and Anthropic were largely absent, according to WPP’s Read. Neither company, nor other notable AI startups, had official presences at the conference, although at least one executive from Perplexity was on the ground meeting with clients, according to a Perplexity spokesperson.

It might come as a surprise that these companies have opted to forego CES, especially at a time when AI-powered search is on the rise and many advertisers are eagerly waiting for a chance to test out the format.

AI wearables market shows up

The burgeoning AI wearables market made itself known on the showroom floor this year, with a number of forward-looking products on display. These include NotePin, a wearable that acts as a voice recorder, and LUCI, a pin that provides a POV camera with an AI assistant. The AI wearables market rose to prominence last year thanks to products such as the Ai Pin, Rabbit R1 and Friend, but polarizing marketing campaigns casted some doubt on whether such devices will ever catch on.