Back to The Future: Time to Move Beyond Cookies

Google announced in late April that it will not move forward with creating an in-browser cookie consent tool in its industry-leading web browser, Chrome, officially scrapping its years-long plan to phase out third-party cookies.

Google had previously backed away from commitments to fully deprecate third-party cookie technologies approximately nine months ago, when it proposed giving users a browser-based choice due to ongoing regulatory pressure and mixed industry feedback on its Privacy Sandbox proposals.

While it’s tempting to pretend the last five years of third-party cookie deprecation preparation simply never happened, it’s worth remembering that marketers are now operating in a very different environment in 2025 than they were back in 2019. 

With continually growing consumer expectations and stricter regulations governing data privacy further proliferating around the globe, the general consensus among marketers is that a market-wide shift away from third-party cookies is sorely needed to balance the needs of audiences, advertisers, publishers, and platforms. 

Even as third-party cookies remain intact in Chrome, their efficacy is limited. The wider adtech industry recognizes the challenge and has taken myriad steps to move beyond them: Other web browsers began limiting third-party cookies more than a decade ago. Consumers embraced ad blockers, private browsing, and private search engines. Brands have adopted cookie consent management platforms, preference management workflows, and first-party data strategies to build trusted, direct customer relationships. Meanwhile, publishers and platforms have invested significantly in developing and testing alternative audience identification and targeting methods. Momentum is on the side of continued innovation, not stagnation. 

In response, leading companies long ago began transforming their approaches to measurement and targeting. To fill gaps in experience analytics, brands invested in Google’s tech stack have adopted platform-specific solutions like Consent Mode, which relies on cookieless pings. To ensure first-party management over website data collection, they’ve opted into Google Tag Gateway or server-side tagging and conversion APIs. Others have adopted a diversification strategy, experimenting not only with Privacy Sandbox APIs, but also with other cookieless adtech like Unified ID 2.0, Authenticated Traffic Solutions, and Merkle’s own Merkury ID to reach relevant audiences online without exposing their identities. While Privacy Sandbox is no longer the primary impetus for companies to invest in evolving data collection, measurement, and activation strategies in the era of privacy, there’s no reason to slow down on these efforts. Brands that double down on the investments they’ve made in cookieless tech alternatives and strategies will maintain a competitive advantage over those who revert back to a reliance on third-party cookies.

Advertisers should follow in the footsteps of these market leaders who recognize that welcoming the return of cookies in Chrome is not a long-term solution for marketing success. Short term disruption has been avoided, but change will come nonetheless. The rise of artificial intelligence (AI), shifts in geopolitical power, and regulator pressure on the adtech industry are all reshaping the world around us as we wait to see what comes next; continuing to rely on a technology that rose to prominence in the era of Netscape and AOL dominance for digital ad targeting in the era of AI is as crazy as it sounds. To thrive in 2025, brands must adopt an open-minded and future-forward focus on testing into the latest cookie alternatives, not cling to the past.

Whether your organization is breathing a sigh of relief at the prospect of relying on cookies for a little longer, ready to leap ahead with AI-powered marketing solutions, or somewhere in between, the Merkle | Cardinal Path team is available to help you successfully navigate change.