Top Six Impactful AI Trends for Marketers in 2025

Happy New Year! In this episode, Jennifer Jones-Mitchell shares her predictions for the six most impactful AI Marketing trends for the new year, including:

• The critical mass adoption of digital twins and AI avatars
• Brand collaborations around custom LLM development
• Synthetic analytics for product positioning
• AI improving crisis communications & creating new crisis situations
• The need to prepare for the incoming administration’s deregulation of AI
• A greater emphasis on an AI-literate workforce

I referenced a previous podcast in which we discuss the terms and conditions of companies offering digital twins, learn more here.

Watch the video of these AI marketing trends below or on YouTube.

Or, you can listen to the podcast on Spotify, Amazon Music, or BuzzSprout.

Transcript:

Welcome to the AI Central Podcast brought to you by Human-Driven AI.

[Music]

Hey everybody, thanks for joining me. I’m Jennifer Jones Mitchell, and here we are on the last day of the year. I thought I’d share the top six AI marketing trends for 2025. Let’s get into it.

Trend Number One:

I think we’re going to see the use of avatars and digital twins really reach critical mass in 2025. A digital twin, if you don’t know, is an avatar of yourself. You can use tools like HeyGen, Synthesia, TikTok, Meta, Zoom, and dozens of others to create one. If you want to create a digital twin, please check out our previous podcast on digital twins. You’ll find the link above or below, because some of these companies, if you make a digital twin of yourself, will own your likeness. Some don’t, so check out that podcast to see the terms and conditions and know what you’re getting into.

Now, of course, avatars are different from digital twins. These are fully synthetically created humanlike personas like those you can find in Synthesia. This is not a twin of yourself; this is an entity in its own right. Both avatars and digital twins will definitely be something brands adopt more of in 2025 because they can be used for so many things. You can use them for customer support, acting like a virtual assistant handling customer service. Of course, content creation—companies like Synthesia can create avatars to produce multilingual video content quickly and at scale. In fact, I’ll be using my own digital twin in upcoming videos. You’ll see what it looks like. I’m already using a clone of my voice for how-to videos that I’m creating using the tool InVideo.

We will absolutely see more avatars and digital twins for content creation in 2025. But we’re also seeing avatars and digital twins as influencers and brand ambassadors, both internally within companies to assist employees with onboarding and other needs, as well as customer-facing AI-created personalities. Some of these already exist. For example, Nori is an AI-generated personality with more than 2 million followers and brand deals with Skims, Versace, and Hilfiger. She even signed a music deal with Warner Music. Then there’s Michaela, who has more than 3 million followers and brand deals with Samsung, Calvin Klein, Prada, and more.

Younger generations really like following these synthetic characters. Let’s face it, if you’re a marketer who’s had to deal with today’s influencers, you’ll really appreciate how easy it is to work with an avatar. Marketers can also use these avatars and digital twins to test products in virtual environments before launch, for CX personalization, or for event marketing. For example, during the pandemic, I worked with a company that used digital twins to create virtual event spaces, allowing attendees of virtual conferences to interact with brand ambassadors online.

Trend Number Two:

Brand collaborations around LLMs. I’ve been talking about this for a while, and I’m starting to see it play out with my own clients and other brands. Brands with shared audiences or adjacent topics will increasingly team up to make custom LLMs more robust. For example, an outdoor sporting goods retailer could create a custom LLM trained on camping, climbing, hiking, fishing, and biking gear. If the retailer partners with the National Park Service, the LLM could also provide knowledge about national parks. This enhances the customer experience and provides invaluable data collection for the brands involved.

Trend Number Three:

Synthetic emotion analytics to help with product positioning. AI tools are evolving beyond basic sentiment analysis, which understands only positive, negative, and neutral emotions. Synthetic emotion-driven tools can mimic complex emotions like humor, empathy, and nostalgia.

This allows brands to analyze and predict deeper emotional responses. Marketers can then test which emotions connect best with audiences, ultimately creating deeper brand connections and better-performing campaigns.

Trend Number Four:

AI and crisis communications. AI is the perfect tool for real-time massive monitoring, identifying emerging crises before they become a problem. It can also assess situations and immediately develop messaging, statements, and actions for rapid crisis response.

However, AI will also create new crises, such as deep fakes, misinformation, and AI-generated brand attacks. While AI improves crisis planning and response, marketers need to prepare for these new challenges in 2025.

Trend Number Five:

The coming administration’s plans for deregulation. Regardless of whether these plans are fully implemented, perception is reality.

Brands will need to reinforce their messaging around compliance with regulations like GDPR.

The coming administration’s approach may make AI data collection and model training less regulated, so it’s crucial to assure stakeholders of compliance and governance.

Trend Number Six:

The growing need for an AI-literate workforce. AI is here to stay, and businesses will need employees who understand and can optimize it across marketing, PR, and advertising.

At Human-Driven AI, we license our classes and training programs to high schools, colleges, and universities to prepare tomorrow’s workforce. Companies will increasingly seek employees with AI skills and make AI training a key part of professional development.

So, in short, 2025 will be the year of AI, with more digital twins and avatars, brand collaborations around custom LLMs, synthetic analytics for product positioning, AI improving crisis planning while creating new crises, preparing for deregulation, and emphasizing an AI-literate workforce.

Thanks for joining me. I really appreciate your time and attention. In an upcoming episode, SEO expert Winston Burton will share insights around search GPT and the impact AI is having on search. Thanks so much, and Happy New Year!

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Remember, AI won’t take your job. Someone who knows how to use AI will. Upskilling your team today, ensures success tomorrow. In-person and virtual training workshops are available. Or, schedule a session for a comprehensive AI Transformation strategic roadmap to ensure your marketing team utilizes the right GAI tech stack for your needs.