Welcome to HubSpot's Expert Edge Series, where we interview top execs at major brands to explore their perspectives on the latest trends, challenges, and opportunities shaping the industry.
Earlier this month, Google Chrome took another step in its plans to phase out third-party cookies.

And yet HubSpot Blog Research reports that 83% of marketers are still leveraging third-party cookies in some capacity.

I get it – it takes time to shift both mindset and strategies. And change can be scary.

But when I spoke with Steve Yap, Google's Head of Google Marketing Platform - Americas, he expressed his enthusiasm and excitement for the future of advertising.

"We're at this inflection point, and we are working across the industry to rebuild advertising as we know it," Yap says. "We will redefine it, and we'll do so with a consumer-centered, privacy-forward viewpoint and perspective - and that's pretty motivating."
Here, I spoke with Yap to explore what the current data privacy landscape looks like, how marketers can build consumer trust with first-party data, and the role of AI in a cookie-free world. Let's dive in.