The new era of publisher monetization relies on ownership of cross domain identity.

US publisher monetization in 2025

Content publishing and monetization is undergoing a sea change in 2025. Third-party cookies are out and AI is in - and major US publishers are actually pulling ad sales back in house from open web programmatic channels which addresses the continued failure of open marketplaces to produce ad packages that brands want. At the same time publishers are being asked to deliver sharper data driven outcomes to brands in order to compete with the walled gardens. This shift, coupled with the rise of AI-generated content that causes readers to bypass conventional user journeys poses significant threats to publishers being able to see who their customers are and own their own data. On top of this, Customer Data Platforms (CDPs), once seen as the gold standard for unifying data, are facing more and more ROI scrutiny in the way DMPs did before them.

Using probabilistic or contextual methods in isolation will not put them back at the top of the pile

We’ve recently seen Google re-allow fingerprinting, and the rise of curated marketplaces and probabilistic methods create temptation for premium publishers to create ad packages with a number of these methods stitched together. But building your home on rented or shaky foundations is not the way to take control of your future.

It’s safe to say that all of these forces are coming together to point towards one clear conclusion that we’ve all known for some time: first party data is king. But in order for 1P data to actually create the future, it must not rely on email paywalls, it can’t be rented or tethered to aging underlying data, and it must be owned completely by the party monetizing it. After all, data is the foundational asset for any digital business, so owning it should be an inevitable future. Given that we’re all expecting a tsunami of AI powered contextual solutions to flood the market, premium publishers need to think about how they build truly top shelf ad products.

Building your own durable 1st party data asset is crucial

In this environment, creating a deterministic first-party identifier emerges as a crucial path forward. AdFixus builds publishers' deterministic IDs that address the known and unknown with patented decentralized encryption methods, ensuring accuracy and consistency across multiple domains. AdFixus’ methods are in fact now seen as the gold standard for identity authentication, with similar approaches now seen in Open ID (OIDC) amongst others.  

For large multi-domain publishers, the ability to unify audience data under one identifier means enhanced personalization, improved monetization, as well as an ability to deduplicate visitor analytics, a capability most large publishing houses are looking to for the future. Carsales’ published case study shows how they have successfully streamlined their digital identity solution, eliminating 20% of unwanted IDs and thereby reducing operational costs associated with their CDP, at the same time they increased top line revenue by 22%. This use case underscores the benefits of adopting a deterministic approach, as it not only cuts unnecessary data expenses but also sharpens the precision of audience outputs without the same fiddly upkeep.

Moreover, deterministic IDs help publishers maintain critical visibility over user journeys in an era where AI can obscure them. By collecting first-party data at the point of authentication and consent, publishers avoid relying on increasingly unreliable probabilistic methods. To that end, CarSales’ conversion API brings their open web offering a tool once reserved for Meta; being able to stream conversion events with advertisers to measure actual outcomes.

Conclusion

As the industry continues to transform, forward-thinking US publisher executives are evaluating a deterministic first-party ID strategy. For the long term, it’s the most reliable way to safeguard revenue streams, comply with emerging privacy standards, and maintain control over the user experience. And this is the moment to think long term—it's time to build and own your house to enable the next generation of truly top shelf ad products so that internet users can continue to enjoy a quality, open and free internet.