‘Commerce is now the measurement layer’: 12 marketers on what to expect at DMEXCO 2026

Excerpt from Performance Marketing World's ‘Commerce is now the measurement layer’: 12 marketers on what to expect at DMEXCO 2026

As the ad industry descends on Cologne, martech and adtech are at a sea-change moment, with AI, regulation and Big Tech reshaping the industry.

James Mcdonald, Co-Founder & CRO, Limelight Inc.:

"DMEXCO’s motto for this year’s event is “Scaling Intelligence”, and I think that’s a very good indication of what we’re going to see and hear. The conference will undoubtedly be dominated by AI, but as the hype over the technology settles down, there’s a growing realisation that the most powerful AI systems are the ones that are strictly controlled by humans. Humans who decide where best to use AI, what outcomes they are looking to achieve, and how deeply to integrate it with other systems. AI doesn’t replace human intelligence, it augments it."