By SmartNews

AI is reshaping digital advertising – from targeting and optimization to measurement and scale. But as AI adoption accelerates, so do concerns around privacy, ad fatigue, and consumer trust. Advertisers are increasingly asking an important question: Can AI-driven advertising perform without tracking users across the internet?

That question is at the center of the video “AI Ads that Don’t Stalk You: Inside SmartNews with Ratnesh Kumar.” In this conversation, Ratnesh Kumar, Lead Product Manager at SmartNews, explores a more balanced approach to AI advertising – one that prioritizes context, user intent, and attention over invasive tracking.

Why Advertisers are Rethinking AI Targeting

Traditional AI advertising has long relied on behavioral tracking, third-party data, and persistent retargeting. While effective in the short term, these methods are becoming harder to scale due to privacy regulations, signal loss, and declining consumer tolerance.

As a result, many marketers are reassessing where and how their ads appear. Contextual advertising offers a compelling alternative — and helps explain why advertising in news works. Instead of focusing on who users are across the web, contextual strategies focus on what users are actively engaging with in the moment. When ads appear alongside trusted, relevant content, they feel more useful — and often deliver stronger engagement.

This shift toward privacy-first, contextual AI advertising is a key theme discussed in the video.

How Context and AI Work Together

AI doesn’t need personal data to be powerful. When applied within high-quality content environments, AI can:

• Optimize ad delivery based on real-time engagement signals
• Align ads with relevant topics and moments of intent
• Improve efficiency without relying on cross-site tracking

This approach aligns with a broader industry trend, as advertisers are quietly returning to news-driven channels — and it’s paying off. Context-rich environments provide the attention and trust that performance marketers increasingly need, especially as cookies and third-party signals continue to fade.

The Role of Human Strategy in AI Advertising

Another important takeaway from the discussion is that automation still needs human direction. AI can scale insights and optimize delivery, but advertisers remain responsible for strategy, creative, and measurement. The strongest outcomes come from combining machine learning with thoughtful human decision-making — a balance explored further in why automation still needs a human touch.

Rather than replacing marketers, AI works best when it supports smarter decisions and more relevant experiences.

A Smarter Path Forward

As privacy standards tighten and acquisition costs rise, advertisers are under pressure to find solutions that balance performance with trust. It’s no surprise that brands are boosting investment in news — environments where relevance, credibility, and attention converge.

This perspective reflects how platforms like SmartNews are thinking about the future of advertising today: focusing on relevance, attention, and long-term performance rather than short-term signal chasing.

Watch “AI Ads That Don’t Stalk You” to hear the full conversation and explore how contextual, privacy-first AI advertising is evolving.