I’m purposely posting this on the last day of 2024...
Since November 2022, when I first tested ChatGPT 3.5, I’ve been following what’s now called AI News on a daily basis.
Clearly, I can say this past year has been the most exciting I’ve experienced in my 15 years working in web and marketing.
It’s been a crazy year. Purely and simply crazy.
In this post, I’ve curated the 284 AI news stories that, in my view, had the biggest impact on marketing in 2024.
Based on these 284 stories, I’m sharing the key trends and shifts from this year that will undoubtedly shape and influence our marketing strategies moving forward.
#1 AI Search Revolution
Search is changing fast in 2024, with AI reshaping how we find information. OpenAI’s ChatGPT Search is a big move. It’s their first real step into search, beyond just conversational AI. ChatGPT Search offers quick answers, links, and even real-time info through Advanced Voice Mode. It works seamlessly across Apple devices, connecting Siri and Visual Search. OpenAI is clearly building something bigger—a bridge between chat and search.
Google isn’t sitting still. Sundar Pichai says Search will “change profoundly” by 2025. They’ve added AI Mode, mixing traditional search with tools like summaries, follow-up questions, and direct answers. It’s still ad-driven, but with smarter placements powered by AI.
Then there’s Perplexity. They’re doing something different—combining AI with elements of classic search. They’ve grown fast, partnering with media outlets and launching revenue-sharing programs. Their Pro Shop and Spaces show how search can go beyond finding info to creating a place for learning and transactions.
Meta is also stepping in with its AI search engine. It’s using social data to personalize search, breaking away from reliance on Google and Bing. This points to a future where search is more about niches than indexing the whole web.
Smaller players like Brave and Arc are pushing conversational search even further. Brave’s AI chat for follow-ups and Arc’s smart browsing tools hint that search may split into specialized tools instead of one-size-fits-all platforms.
Kagi, a privacy-first search engine, is also making waves. It focuses on delivering high-quality results without ads, using AI to refine searches and prioritize trusted sources. Kagi has gained traction with users tired of cluttered, ad-filled search experiences. Its subscription model signals a shift toward paid, premium search services designed for transparency and accuracy.
Karine’s insight: Here is the catch that precisely Kagi is aiming to solve. Accuracy is still a problem. ChatGPT’s search struggles with unreliable results, and Google’s AI Overviews have surfaced some questionable suggestions (like using glue on pizza—seriously). As AI takes over search, getting quality and trust right will be critical. For some… But probably not for everyone neither. Before the AI Search’s hype, where was it written that links you clicked on always offered the perfect right answer?
Side note: I'm certainly bias, but this one is to me the biggest. This AI Search revolution is transforming the web's entire business model.
Your one Absolute read: This post says A LOT about how Google is seing the future of Search and what we should expect, in terms of big picture vision for 2025. Google's Sundar Pichaï talks Search, AI, and dancing with Microsoft.
#2 AI Voice & the Audio boom
AI voice tech made big moves in 2024, reshaping how we interact, create, and listen. Voice cloning stirred up controversy. PlayAI is cloning voices on command, and LOVO AI faced a class-action lawsuit from actors over voice cloning misuse. Meanwhile, Amazon is letting Audible narrators replicate their voices with AI, and Hume launched Voice Control for fully custom voice creation. Even OpenAI had to clarify it didn’t use Scarlett Johansson’s voice for ChatGPT.
AI-powered podcasting took off. ElevenLabs debuted tools to create podcasts from scratch. Spotify teamed up with NotebookLM for personalized podcast summaries, and Google’s AI notebook can turn notes into audio. ElevenLabs also launched Projects, a feature for converting long-form content into engaging audio formats.
Voice chat in AI assistants became more sophisticated. OpenAI added ChatGPT voice calls on phone and WhatsApp and expanded voice features to browsers. Amazon’s Alexa is leveling up with Claude AI, and DeepL now offers real-time voice and video translation. These updates are pushing AI closer to seamless human interaction.
Audio content creation didn’t lag behind. Fugatto introduced tools to create soundscapes with prompts, while Suno’s new feature lets you blend your sounds with AI-generated music. The audiobook market exploded too—40,000 AI-narrated titles hit Audible in one year.
Karine's insights: Looking to 2025, expect three trends: better emotional expression in AI voices, clearer consent rules for voice cloning, and marketplaces for AI-generated audio. As Voice AI grows, balancing innovation with ethics will be key.
Your one absolute must-read: This blog post from Jeremiah Owyang. Probably the best read I had about Audio booming - and it was right before the rise, shine and failure of Clubhouse... - Still happening. With AI on top of it: The Future of Social Audio: Startups, Roadmap, Business Models, and a Forecast
#3 AI Content Generation Evolution: Multimodal is the New Norm
AI content generation has dramatically evolved in 2024 to become multimodal.
Multimodal AI creates different types of content at once: text, images, video and audio. meaning these systems can now seamlessly work with multiple forms of media simultaneously, including text, images, video, audio, and interactive elements. Think of multimodal AI as a master artist who can paint, compose music, direct films, and write poetry all at once, understanding how these different forms interact.
Major developments show this clearly: OpenAI's Sora turns text into realistic videos. Google’s Veo is doing pretty much the same thing ; ElevenLabs converts articles into natural-sounding podcasts; Suno creates AI music from voice recordings ; Google's VLOGGER makes still photos move, among other examples.
Big companies are using multimodal AI in new ways: Meta put AI in Ray-Ban glasses that see, hear, and talk ; YouTube now edits videos automatically with AI ; Adobe creates videos from text prompts ; Noom scans bodies and processes health data at once.
Real examples prove it works and it’s doable: Guns N' Roses made a music video using AI ; LinkedIn now creates content in multiple formats ; Spotify turns text into custom playlists.
Karine’s insights: The change is massive but simple: AI now works like human senses. It can see, hear, and create different types of content at the same time. This makes AI content feel more natural and complete. This is also why anyone is now more than ever a power house content creator. ANYONE, literally anyone can create any type of content he/she feels comfortable with. No more excuses to not launch your personal brand. No more excuses to not start a content marketing campaign. No more excuses to not have a content strategy. No matter what is your industry, no matter your level of expertise or what you sell: anyone can create any sort of content to support his marketing strategy.
#4 AI Regulation: A Year of Change, A Transformation Ahead
2024 was a big year for AI rules and laws. The European Union created the first major AI law in the world. The US, EU, and UK also signed an agreement to work together on AI safety. Different regions made their own choices - Tennessee protected artists from AI, while California struggled with its AI laws. Big tech companies had to start being more careful. YouTube now requires creators to label AI content. OpenAI began adding watermarks to show when content is AI-generated. Meta was fined €800 million for breaking EU rules.
Karine's insights: The message is clear: AI companies can't operate without oversight anymore. In 2025, we'll see these new rules start working in practice. Companies will need to follow stricter rules about showing when they use AI. They'll need to be more transparent about how their AI works. Government agencies are getting ready too - the US Justice Department now has an AI chief. This means 2025 will be about putting all these new rules into action. Companies will need to adapt to different rules in different places. Most importantly, they'll need to prove their AI is safe and honest with users.
#5 Major investments and strategic Tech partnerships
2024 revealed unprecedented levels of AI investment and strategic partnerships. Tech giants made massive financial commitments - Amazon poured $4 billion into Anthropic, OpenAI secured a $6.5 billion funding round, and Google announced plans to invest $100 billion in AI development.
Beyond money, companies formed strategic alliances that showed where the industry is heading: Essentially Content and Tech.
Forget the hype about generative AI replacing content. The truth is, content remains king. With OpenAI signing deals with major publishers like Condé Nast and Financial Times, while Meta partnered with Reuters and TikTok with Getty Images (cf. below #6).
Tech integration partnerships also emerged, like Amazon making AWS Anthropic's primary training partner and OpenAI integrating with Apple devices or Google’s$120M fund for AI education.
Looking to 2025, we can expect even bigger investments as companies race to secure AI advantages.
The focus will likely shift from just building AI to monetizing it through practical applications.
Karine’s insights: We should expect more partnerships between AI companies and traditional businesses in areas like customer service, content creation, and enterprise solutions. The companies that succeed will be those who can turn these big investments and partnerships into real business value.
#6 Major Corporate AI Content Partnerships... to sidestep lawsuits and legal battles
In 2024, the relationship between AI companies and publishers changed—from fighting to working together. But it wasn’t smooth. And it wasn’t clean.
Early in the year, things were messy. The New York Times called out Perplexity for using its content without permission. Other AI companies ignored web standards and scraped publisher sites anyway. Then came the backlash. YouTubers hit OpenAI with a class-action lawsuit for scraping their video transcripts.
Perplexity fired back, calling the media ‘adversarial’ to AI progress.
But by mid-year, the story shifted.
OpenAI started striking deals with publishers like Tom's Guide and Hearst, pulling lifestyle and news content into its ecosystem.
Google followed with a $6 million deal with News Corp, and Meta signed a multi-year partnership with Reuters.
Perplexity changed its tune too, launching a revenue-sharing program with 15 major media outlets.
Even the Financial Times got in on it, integrating its content with ChatGPT.
Notice what’s happening here?
What started as lawsuits turned into revenue-sharing. Legal fights became business deals. AI companies like OpenAI and Perplexity went from dodging lawsuits to shaking hands with publishers. The shift isn’t just collaboration—it’s strategy.
But let’s not sugarcoat it. Behind the headlines lies a much bigger story. A controversial one.
We’re talking about the biggest theft in web history.
OpenAI, Google, Meta—they’re making deals with a few big publishers while quietly scraping massive amounts of web content.
Facebook admitted to scraping every Australian user’s public photos and posts—no opt-out.
TikTok’s owner scrapes the web 25 times faster than OpenAI.
Nvidia’s leaked documents show it’s collecting a ‘human lifetime’ of video content daily.
OpenAI confessed to transcribing over a million hours of YouTube videos for GPT-4—even though YouTube’s CEO said it’s against their terms.
These deals with big publishers? They’re just the surface.
While major media outlets get paid, billions of smaller creators and websites have their content taken without a dime of compensation.
This isn’t collaboration. It’s power. Big tech writes the checks to silence the big players and continues to exploit the rest.
Karine’s take: The web was built on open sharing. That’s being replaced—not through innovation but through an unprecedented data grab. These partnerships aren’t business as usual. They’re hush money. Deals that normalize the systematic use of everyone else’s content without asking. This isn’t progress. It’s appropriation at scale.
Side note: We should marketer do about this? Deal with it. We have to pick our battle, and we obviously won't win this one. While creating your content strategy and your content, keep in mind that it will be stolen, one way or another. So create content so unique and personalized that LLMs will always attribute it back to you as the original author.
#7 Key AI Model Advancements
2024 was the year of fierce competition and rapid leaps in AI capabilities.
The game changed with the launch of models like Claude 3.5 Sonnet, GPT-4o, and Meta's Llama 3. Each one pushed AI performance to new levels.
A key moment? Claude 3 beating GPT-4 in benchmark tests for the first time. That shook up the competitive landscape.
Cost efficiency became a major focus.
OpenAI’s GPT-4o mini proved you can deliver powerful AI without sky-high costs. Open-source models also gained traction. Players like Alibaba and OpenScholar started challenging the big proprietary systems.
Looking ahead to 2025, the competition will only heat up. Expect to see specialized models that prioritize efficiency and cost-effectiveness.
Why? The industry is facing $600 billion in yearly hardware costs. That kind of pressure forces innovation in smarter architectures.
Karine’s Take: 2025 won’t be about chasing raw power. It’ll be about creating models that are sharper, leaner, and capable of doing more with less.
Side note: I know what you're thinking. And the answer is YES! We, as marketer, will still be needed in person. More than ever.
#8 AI Integrated in Enterprises Solutions
2024 was the year enterprise AI stopped being experimental and became essential.
Big platforms launched tools to make businesses smarter. AI Agents led the way. Google’s Agentspace and Salesforce’s AgentForce introduced AI agents for complex tasks. OpenAI announced its 'Operator' tool to handle routine workflows. HubSpot didn’t hold back either, betting big on AI with its new agent, Breeze.
Workplace tools got a major AI boost. Google Docs added Gemini’s capabilities. Google Meet started taking automated notes. Airtable launched an AI platform that promises to redefine work.
Customer service was a clear winner. T-Mobile teamed up with OpenAI. Amazon rolled out Project Amelia, an AI assistant for sellers. Best Buy used AI to track deliveries more efficiently.
As we move into 2025, enterprise AI is set to explode. The shift will be from basic tools to integrated systems that manage entire business processes. AI won’t just support workflows—it’ll run them.
Karine’s Take: With H AI raising $220M for automation and HubSpot pushing its 'complete AI solution,' we’ll see more platforms combining workflow automation, document handling, and customer service into single systems. In 2025, AI won’t just be a tool. It’ll become the backbone of business operations.
#9 AI Content Monetization
The AI content monetization game changed completely in 2024. Free-access models gave way to more diverse revenue streams.
Big moves came from OpenAI and Perplexity. They signed high-profile deals with traditional media, setting up revenue-sharing programs and content licensing agreements worth up to $5 million a year.
Marketplaces like the GPT Store and Perplexity's Pro Shop showed that user-generated AI content could be monetized effectively.
AI platforms also started integrating ads and offering premium subscriptions. ChatGPT Pro, priced at $200/month, proved people are willing to pay for advanced features.
While most platforms leaned into ad-supported models, Kagi introduced a fresh approach. Their AI-powered search engine offers a clean, ad-free experience, supported by a paid membership model. This challenges the typical ad-driven monetization strategies and signals a growing demand for privacy-first, subscription-based services.
As we head into 2025, this shift will pick up speed. Expect three big trends:
More partnerships between AI platforms and content creators.
Smarter ad integrations that blend seamlessly into AI interfaces.
New, specialized marketplaces for AI-generated content.
Karine’s Take: This shows how the ecosystem is evolving. It’s no longer just about making content—it’s about finding sustainable ways for creators, publishers, and AI platforms to share the profits while tackling copyright and fair compensation issues.
#10 The Rise and Surge of AI Agents
2024 was the year AI agents took center stage. Big tech companies were in a race to create autonomous AI assistants that could handle complex tasks on their own.
Enterprise-focused AI agents led the way. Google launched Agentspace to give businesses better tools for expertise and data access. Salesforce rolled out AgentForce, designed to run entire business operations. Amazon debuted Project Amelia, an AI assistant to help sellers manage their businesses.
OpenAI announced Operator, a tool to automate repetitive tasks, while Coinbase introduced "Based Agent," focused on creating AI tools for crypto. Startups like H joined the competition too, raising $220 million to launch Runner H for agent-driven applications.
In e-commerce, AI agents started doing more than just helping—they were running things. Amazon’s shopping assistant became available to all U.S. users, managing transactions and seller operations. MultiOn entered the scene with a new AI agent called Agent Q, adding more variety to the mix.
Even with all this progress, not everything went smoothly. Google announced that its next-generation AI agents wouldn’t be ready until 2025 or later. This delay highlighted just how complex it is to develop AI agents that can truly perform at the next level.
Looking at 2025, here’s what to watch for:
Consumer-facing AI agents that can handle daily tasks with ease.
AI agents becoming deeply integrated into business workflows, especially in areas like marketing.
The growth of the Multi Agent Network—yes, the one is the same as Dharmesh Shah (not bragging, just saying).
Karine’s Take: In 2024, AI agents were still being tested out. By 2025, they’ll be real tools we rely on daily. They won’t just assist; they’ll feel like part of the team, changing how businesses run and how we, as marketers, connect with customers. For consumers, this means interacting with products and services will feel more seamless than ever, thanks to these smart, invisible teammates.
#11 AI In Consumer Products
2024 was the year AI in consumer products went from cool to completely integrated into daily life, especially in how we communicate.
AI-powered communication tools became part of the norm. OpenAI expanded into phone calls and WhatsApp. Character.AI let users have actual voice conversations with AI avatars. DeepL brought real-time voice and video translation to the table, pushing the limits of how we interact with AI and breaking language barriers in real-time.
Voice cloning and customization also became hot topics. Companies like Hume showed off impressive innovations, but it was clear they had to tread carefully to avoid crossing ethical lines.
AI-powered hardware also stepped up. Samsung, Google, and Meta rolled out wearables and mixed-reality devices with built-in AI. Apple and Amazon integrated advanced AI assistants into their ecosystems, with Amazon’s new Alexa now powered by Claude AI.
Looking at 2025, three big trends are coming:
Smarter voice interactions that feel more emotionally intuitive.
Seamless AI integration across every device and platform you use.
AI features so personalized, they’ll adapt to your habits and preferences without you even noticing.
Karine's take: Here’s the reality - AI is going to become an even more personal part of our daily lives. It’ll feel natural—like it’s always been there. But with that intimacy comes big questions about privacy and how voice technology should be used ethically. We’ll all need to stay sharp as the lines between convenience and overreach blur.
That's it for my 11 trends to watch and to integrate in your marketing plans for 2025.
Please, share yours.
What is the biggest trend you see as a must-have in 2025?
🥳 Happy, sweet new year everyone!!!