The Race To Connect Consumer Data May Be Missing The Real Signal

LeadershipLeadership StrategiesThe Race To Connect Consumer Data May Be Missing The Real SignalByGary Drenik,Contributor.Forbes contributors publish independent expert analyses and insights. Gary Drenik is a writer covering AI, analytics and innovation.Follow AuthorJun 09, 2026, 10:00am EDTWhy Demand DNA May Matter More Than Data Exhaust In The Age Of AICausal DataGetty Images - FotograziaThe advertising industry is making one of the largest technology bets in its history.Billions of dollars are being invested in identity graphs, clean rooms, customer data platforms, data collaboration technologies, and agentic AI systems designed to automate marketing decisions. Recent transactions, such as Publicis acquiring LiveRamp, and investments across the industry reflect a growing belief that the future belongs to organizations capable of connecting the most consumer data. The assumption seems logical. More data should create better insights. Better insights should create better predictions. Better predictions should create better business outcomes.But what if the industry's biggest assumption is wrong? What if more data does not necessarily create better predictions? What if the real challenge is not connecting more data but understanding whether the data being connected contains the information marketers actually need?For decades, digital marketing has been built on behavioral exhaust—the digital footprints consumers leave behind through transactions, website visits, searches, loyalty programs, mobile devices, and advertising interactions. Behavioral exhaust is valuable. It tells organizations what consumers did. What it often fails to explain is why they did it. That distinction may become increasingly important as artificial intelligence takes on a larger role in business decision-making.Most AI systems learn from historical observations. They identify patterns, correlations, and relationships within existing data. But no matter how sophisticated the model becomes,...