The 3 Most Important Tech Trends to Watch in 2024

Technology marches along, and we all tend to march right along with it, especially when our favorite devices don't give us a choice. But beyond the gadgets we use, there are three key tech trends that are worth keeping a closer eye on this year.

Is 2024 Finally the Year of the Robot?

It's official: Artificial Intelligence has taken over.

Okay, we might be kidding but only to a small degree. It seems like AI exploded over the past year, starting with a fury upon the release to the public of ChatGPT and its competitors like Google Bard and Bing Copilot.

While you might not specifically have used one of those yet, you're probably already using AI and just don't realize it.

"Where will AI go this year? That's like asking where a helium balloon will go after letting go of it outside," says Tim Fisher, SVP, AI Operations for Dotdash Meredith. "AI is moving so quickly that any projection past 2 or 3 months is silly, let alone a year or more.

"That said, I'm confident AI will continue to have a strong and increasingly important role in helping people get things done in more efficient ways, both at home and at work. That will mean we'll see AI begin to be integrated into the products and services we've always used as a way to make them work better and faster.

"In that way, like much of technology over the past few decades, it will impact our lives more and more but also begin to fade into the background," says Fisher. "Ultimately, we won't talk about 'AI' anymore. We'll simply expect it be there, like an app that helps us access information or a webpage that answers a question."

This year, watch specifically for changes in how you search the internet, how your connected auto apps like Apple CarPlay and Android Auto gather and use information to help you drive, and how AI starts showing up in advertising campaigns.

As an example, Google and Samsung announced at Samsung's phone launch event in January 2024 that they had joined forces to create something called Circle to Search. With AI built into new Samsung phones, this feature lets users circle, tap, scribble over, or highlight images and text to see Google search results without ever opening a browser.

Our bottom line take on AI: While yes, AI is everywhere, it's not necessarily taking over just yet. It's just working with existing technology for the most part to make all the things we already use better. The bigger issue will always be keeping technology where it belongs: under control and only used for good.

Watch Where You Click: High-Tech Ad Games Could Be Influencing You More This Year

Need to buy something this year? Your next purchase might be right from that woman on your social media feed.

E-commerce isn't going anywhere, say the experts. It's just taking a bit of a curve in terms of how much more the corporate world will use social media influencers to drive sales this year.

Advertisers are trying to make their products fast, simple, and wildly accessible and, with more people using some form of social media these days, it's obvious that they would target you as you skim your feeds.

That girl telling you about the amazing clothes she just found on Amazon? An influencer. That guy talking about his yummy drink he's now decided is the only one he will imbibe in from now on? Another influencer. And they likely have a deal with the makers of the products they talk about.

Advertisers love influencers because they're personable, relatable, have built-in audiences, and people respond to them in droves.

In fact, Intelligence Insider says nearly every marketer (97.6%) in the U.S. will find a way to advertise on Instagram this year. In terms of influencer marketing, more than half of those marketers will use Instagram Reels next year, putting it slightly ahead of TikTok as the social media channel of choice.

That's smart, because three generations of online consumers (Gen X, Millennials, and Gen Z) admit to purchasing products through a social media app in recent months. These buyers tend to be dialed in to mobile purchases more than other generations, making them prime candidates for the newest catchphrase: M-commerce (mobile commerce).

Even so, omnichannel buyers are still out there, so advertisers have lots of different ways to entice you into parting ways with your hard-earned dollars. Print might be waning a bit, but that just means that the internet and television are going to be even bigger in the hype game.

Our take on tech in advertising in 2024: Keep an eye out for that latest influencer trying out a new product. The odds are greater than ever this year that you're not watching just a helpful video anymore.

By the way, is that really a human in that video?

Mobility Makes Its Move on Roads and In the Skies

By the time CES closed its doors this year, more than 600 mobility exhibitors had shared their visions of a future the Jetsons could be proud of.

It's undeniable: The landscape of transportation is developing at a feverish pace. There are cars that will change colors or extend from small to large (and back), and functional, flexible interiors that you can quickly modify as needed for your lifestyle. That's just a few of the things introduced on four wheels.

The skies were also represented nicely with electric vertical takeoff and landing aircraft, such as the Supernal S-A2, designed to reshape urban mobility options in the future. It seats four plus a pilot, can cruise at 120mph at an altitude of 1,500ft and can travel a distance of 25-40 miles. Quick puddle jump over to the next city for lunch, anyone?

Of course, software and technology companies like Google and Apple are not to be left out. They are becoming increasingly involved in how cars are being developed for the future, with Apple is even rumored to have its own car in development.

That's notable because, traditionally, automakers drove the car-making process and only used software as a feature. With software makers involved from early development of a vehicle, that means they are partnering more and more in the build of a vehicle from beginning to end these days.

All of this amazing futuristic mobility talk aside, what's really in store for transportation in the coming months of 2024?

Short-term, watch out for more e-bikes on the road. That's really the mobility trend for the average person to pay attention to. While seen as a toy in the past, the average buyer these days is looking at e-bikes more seriously as a transportation option.

According to Statista, global e-bike sales will continue a trend upward in 2024 to about 44 million units in sales and extend that upward trajectory well into the 2030s.

It makes sense: While spendy, e-bikes are still far less expensive than even the cheapest car. Their relative affordability makes them a more viable transportation option for urban and even some suburban riders who have traditionally relied on autos or trains to get around town.

Weather is a factor in some areas, of course, so as e-bikes are getting lighter, more people see them as options to get to a bus or train. Many are now lightweight enough to fold up and carry up stairs to apartments or onto a bus or train bike rack.

With congestion on the roads an increasing issue in more and more cities and large towns, larger numbers of motorists are likely to check out options that will get them through traffic quicker than you can say Uber.

E-scooters are an offshoot of the e-bike trend. Even less expensive than e-bikes, e-scooters are projected by Statista to be used by 101 million users worldwide in 2024. Younger generations find them particularly fun and easy to use, which makes them a smart form of mobility for short trips.

As more e-bikes and scooters join the roads (and as max speeds increase), look for more city governments to start regulating them to some degree. Huntington Beach, Calif., passed an ordinance allowing police to stop cyclists deemed to be riding in an unsafe manner, for example, due to concerns about e-bikes in traffic.

Our take on mobility tech: With an increase in popularity and corresponding lack of general regulation comes a propensity for more accidents, too. Motorists would do well this year to keep watching in all directions for an errant e-bike to come flying out of nowhere into traffic. And if you're the rider, get a good helmet. Seriously.