MARKETERS SEARCH FOR AN AI/AR ROI BOOST

The Consumer Electronics Show, the tech industry's premier trade event, is famous for its sampling of flashy gadgets and glimpses into a far-flung future, but marketers in Las Vegas last month for CES 2023 had little appetite for flying cars or robot butlers. With budgets pared down to brave a looming economic downturn, brand leaders are instead on the hunt for technology that can yield new revenue in the here and now-which means that patience for meandering experimentation is waning. After a pandemic-era period in which brands were more willing to go out on a limb testing technology like metaverse experiences and cryptocurrency...adjacent fields, companies now seem more interested in the practical lessons from that trial and error.