Debra Aho Williamson is the Founder and Chief Analyst of Sonata Insights, where she helps advertisers navigate the next major structural shift in media: the rapid rise and monetization of AI platforms. Debra is also the author of The AI Ad Economy, a widely read Substack analyzing how AI platforms are changing advertising.

Over nearly two decades as an analyst at digital marketing research firm EMARKETER, Debra was among the first to forecast the growth of social media advertising and explain how it would fundamentally reshape marketing investment.

Today, she applies that same pattern-recognition lens to AI, analyzing how consumer adoption is accelerating monetization and redefining brand budgets, media strategy and industry power dynamics. Through Sonata Insights, she partners with leading platforms, agencies and technology companies for advisory services, thought leadership research and private presentations that bring clarity and credibility to this transition.

In her newsletter, The AI Ad Economy, Debra chronicles and analyzes the growing impact of AI media: ad-supported experiences inside AI assistants, AI-enhanced search and AI-native interfaces—and eventually, AI agents—where people ask questions, research and make decisions.

Debra is frequently quoted in the media and her opinions and research have been featured in thousands of news articles. She has made more than 50 TV appearances, including on NBC, BBC, Bloomberg Television and CNBC.

On stage, Debra has shared her strategic vision at venues including the Cannes Lions Advertising Festival, Advertising Week New York, Reddit, Shoptalk, IAB Annual Leadership Meeting, VidCon, LiveRamp RampUp, AI Marketers Guild and the Seattle AI Film Festival.

Earlier in her career, Debra worked as a journalist, serving as the founding executive editor at the groundbreaking dotcom-era publication The Industry Standard and as interactive editor at AdAge magazine.

Debra is a Phi Beta Kappa graduate of Northwestern University with degrees in English literature and oboe performance. She’s based in Seattle, and when she’s not writing or speaking, she loves cheering for the Seahawks, trying new restaurants and hiking in the Cascades. Although Debra no longer plays the oboe, she has a profound obsession with learning to play the bagpipes, and she hopes to one day become good enough to join a piping band.