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More than four in five UAE businesses have a ‘clear, shared vision’ for AI

ServiceNow research shows nation steaming towards AI maturity; three in five businesses have appointed an AI officer

Some 71 per cent of UAE businesses say their C-suite is fully committed to leveraging AI for transformation, a recent study shows.

ServiceNow, the AI platform for business transformation, in collaboration with Oxford Economics, has released its AI Maturity Index Report revealing that most enterprises in the UAE are deeply committed to enterprise-wide AI deployments, with buy-in from top management and a clear vision for business transformation.

Eighty-one per cent report that their organization is operating with a clear, shared vision of AI’s role in the wider enterprise. And 60 per cent say an AI leader with a formal job title such as “Chief AI Officer” has been appointed to oversee the strategy of the AI journey. Not surprisingly, in line with these investments, researchers found that 77 per cent of respondents’ organizations have increased AI budgets, year on year.

In addition to unveiling the extent of engagement with AI, the findings also show how UAE organizations think about AI success. Almost one in four respondents (23 per cent) across the country cite productivity increases as their favored metric for verifying the ROI of AI solutions. This vision is reflected in the choices made by organizations about where to focus their transformation efforts. The most popular AI use cases are in data-related areas. More than half (53 per cent) of respondents say their organization is using AI for data-cleaning, management, integration, visualization, or transformation. Some 44 per cent are using AI for performance management, and 43 per cent are concentrating on resource utilization such as labor and IT capacity. Another 43 per cent are using AI for sales-focused tasks like lead-generation and marketing.

The study also revealed that UAE businesses are already seeing tangible returns on these AI investments. Almost two thirds (65 per cent) report at least some ROI in terms of increased efficiency or productivity and 24 per cent say their ROI was greater than 15 per cent.

“AI is making a bigger splash since GenAI emerged,” said William O’Neill, Area VP for UAE, ServiceNow. “However, the real power of AI, which is demonstrated in our UAE findings, is in the careful selection of use cases. AI is now advanced enough to reshape work throughout the enterprise, from payroll and procurement to employee requests, customer queries, and even content creation. But organizations can go further. By using an enterprise AI platform approach, teams and ecosystems can work together to scale efficiently, connecting areas of the business such as customer service and technical support in ways that empower employees and delight customers.”

Interestingly, although UAE organizations are seeing tangible ROI on their AI investments, these are being accrued without organizations having very mature AI capabilities. While all surveyed organizations report at least some AI capabilities, only 15 per cent have reached the stage where they are transforming or innovating with AI. The remainder are in the assessing (12 per cent), experimenting (44 per cent) or operationalizing (31 per cent) stages.

Given the overall tendencies found in the survey results regarding C-suite commitment (71 per cent), budget increases (77 per cent), the presence of a clear, shared vision (81 per cent), and the formal appointment of an AI leader (60 per cent), it is expected that many UAE companies will progress quickly along the AI maturity curve. Other indicators of future accelerated maturity are also found in the results. More than three quarters (76 per cent) of respondents say they have the right mix of skills among current employees to execute their AI strategy. Slightly less than two thirds (65 per cent) have built a culture where teams can work autonomously to identify problems and recommend AI solutions. More than half (55 per cent) host AI learning events to help employees use AI effectively, and 45 per cent have developed training programs to upskill and reskill employees.

“The UAE has long been a first-mover when it comes to innovation and adoption of technology and we’re seeing it again, this time with AI,” added O’Neill. “I would encourage business leaders across the country to continue to lean in. I would encourage them to keep those clear, shared strategies in mind and to lead with vision because those are the factors that experience tells us predict high AI maturity more than any others.”