Artificial intelligence is becoming deeply integrated into Saudi Arabia’s business environment. PwC’s 2026 Saudi Arabia findings show that businesses are moving beyond experimentation and embedding AI into operations, customer experience, risk management and digital infrastructure.
How Are Businesses Using AI in Saudi Arabia?
Saudi businesses are using AI across marketing, sales, customer service, operations, finance, HR, product development, analytics and strategic planning.
PwC’s 2026 CEO survey found that Saudi organisations are already applying AI extensively to demand generation, support services, products and services, strategic direction, and demand fulfilment.
Common applications include:
- Marketing and sales
- Customer service
- Data analysis
- Business research
- Workflow automation
- Financial and HR support
- Product development
- Strategic planning
- Supply chain and operations
- Software development
How Much Are Saudi Businesses Using AI?
AI adoption among Saudi business leaders is high.
PwC’s 2025 Saudi Arabia CEO survey found that 81% of CEOs said their organisations had adopted GenAI during the previous 12 months. Two-thirds also reported that GenAI had increased profitability and revenue during that period.
More recent PwC research shows the focus shifting from adoption toward measurable business value and deeper integration.
How Are Saudi Businesses Using AI for Marketing?
Marketing and demand generation are already significant AI use cases.
PwC’s 2026 Saudi Arabia findings show that 44% of CEOs reported strong AI deployment in demand generation, covering sales, marketing and customer service.
Businesses can use AI to:
- Research customers
- Analyse competitors
- Generate advertising ideas
- Write ad copy
- Create marketing content
- Analyse campaign data
- Personalise customer communication
- Qualify leads
- Automate follow-ups
- Analyse customer feedback
For performance marketers, the workflow can become:
Research → Strategy → Creative → Paid Ads → CRO → Analysis
The goal is not simply to generate more content. It is to improve the customer acquisition process.
How Are Saudi Businesses Using AI for Customer Service?
AI is also being integrated into customer-facing experiences.
Businesses can use AI assistants and chatbots to:
- Answer common questions
- Qualify enquiries
- Provide product information
- Support customers 24/7
- Summarise conversations
- Route customer requests
- Assist human support teams
PwC’s 2026 research found that 40% of Saudi CEOs reported strong AI deployment in support services, including functions such as finance, legal, HR and tax.
How Are Saudi Businesses Using AI for Operations?
AI is moving beyond simple productivity tools.
Saudi organisations are using AI across areas such as:
- Supply chain
- Manufacturing
- Logistics
- Risk management
- Finance
- Human resources
- Internal operations
- Digital infrastructure
PwC reported that 33% of Saudi CEOs indicated strong AI application in demand fulfilment, including supply chain, manufacturing and logistics.
How Are Businesses Using AI in Strategy?
AI is increasingly being used at management level rather than only for individual tasks.
PwC found that 37% of Saudi CEOs reported strong AI application in strategic direction setting, including strategy, annual planning and corporate reviews.
This represents a shift from:
“Use AI to complete a task”
to:
“Use AI to support business decisions.”
Which Saudi Industries Are Using AI?
AI adoption is occurring across multiple sectors as Saudi Arabia continues its economic diversification and digital transformation.
Applications include:
| Industry | Example AI Applications |
|---|---|
| Finance | Risk, analytics, customer service |
| Retail | Recommendations, customer support |
| Real Estate | Lead qualification, marketing |
| Healthcare | Research, administration, diagnostics |
| Tourism | Personalisation, customer service |
| Manufacturing | Automation, predictive maintenance |
| Logistics | Route optimisation, forecasting |
| Technology | Software development, analytics |
| Marketing | Content, advertising, customer insights |
| Government | Digital services, automation |
Saudi Arabia’s AI ecosystem is also being supported by national initiatives and investment in infrastructure, data centres, cloud technologies and AI models.
What Are the Most Popular AI Tools for Saudi Businesses?
Saudi businesses can access many of the same global AI platforms used internationally.
- ChatGPT for research, writing, analysis and business tasks
- Google Gemini for research and Google ecosystem workflows
- Claude for writing, analysis and coding
- Microsoft Copilot for Microsoft workflows
- Perplexity for research and AI-powered search
- Canva AI for marketing design
- Midjourney for AI-generated visuals
- Runway for AI video
- Zapier for workflow automation
Saudi Arabia is also developing its own AI ecosystem. SDAIA publishes AI research, tools and guidance, including a catalogue of 100+ AI productivity tools covering areas such as marketing, design, programming, cybersecurity, education, HR and accounting.
Is AI Use High Among Saudi Workers?
AI use is also widespread among employees.
KPMG’s 2025 global AI study reported that 94% of people surveyed in Saudi Arabia used AI for work, study or personal purposes.
This matters for businesses because AI adoption is not limited to technology departments. Employees are increasingly using AI directly in their daily workflows.
What Is the Saudi AI Trend Moving Toward?
The major shift is from AI experimentation to AI integration.
Saudi businesses are increasingly looking at:
AI tools → AI workflows → AI agents → AI-powered business processes
KPMG’s 2025 Saudi CEO research found that 47% of Saudi CEOs identified AI integration as a top investment priority, while 68% said they were redesigning roles to integrate AI into operations.
SDAIA has also published guidance around agentic AI tools for software development, showing the growing focus on AI systems that can perform multi-step tasks.
What Is Stopping Saudi Businesses From Getting More Value From AI?
Adoption does not automatically mean successful AI implementation.
One important issue is access to business data.
PwC’s 2026 Saudi findings show that only 14% of Saudi CEOs said their most-used AI tools had access to all relevant company data and documents, compared with 29% globally.
Other challenges include:
- Data quality
- Data access
- AI governance
- Cybersecurity
- Employee skills
- Integration
- Measuring ROI
- Responsible AI use
The challenge is therefore moving from “Should we use AI?” to “How do we use AI reliably and profitably?”
How Should a Saudi Business Start Using AI?
Start with a measurable business problem.
Ask:
- What takes employees the most time?
- Which customer questions are repetitive?
- Which marketing tasks are repeated every week?
- What business data is difficult to analyse?
- Where are leads being lost?
- Which workflow could be automated?
- What outcome would justify the investment?
Then select the AI tool around that problem.
Frequently Asked Questions
How are businesses using AI in Saudi Arabia?
Saudi businesses are using AI for demand generation, customer service, operations, analytics, product development, strategic planning, supply chains and internal support functions.
What percentage of Saudi CEOs have adopted GenAI?
PwC’s 2025 Saudi Arabia CEO survey found that 81% of CEOs said their organisations had adopted GenAI during the previous 12 months.
Which AI tools can Saudi businesses use?
Common options include ChatGPT, Gemini, Claude, Microsoft Copilot, Perplexity, Canva AI, Midjourney, Runway and Zapier.
Is Saudi Arabia investing in AI?
Yes. AI is a major component of Saudi Arabia’s broader digital transformation strategy, with investment in infrastructure, cloud, data centres, AI models, skills and business adoption.
How are Saudi businesses using AI for marketing?
Businesses can use AI for customer research, advertising, content creation, campaign analysis, lead qualification, personalisation and marketing automation. PwC reported that 44% of Saudi CEOs had strong AI deployment in demand generation.
Conclusion
AI adoption in Saudi Arabia is moving quickly from experimentation into business operations. Companies are using AI across marketing, customer service, operations, analytics, products and strategic decision-making, while investment in the country’s broader AI ecosystem continues to grow.
For businesses, the opportunity is not simply to use more AI tools. It is to identify where AI can reduce repetitive work, improve customer experiences, analyse data or create measurable business value.
For marketers, combining AI, Paid Ads and Conversion Rate Optimization can turn AI from a content tool into part of a measurable customer acquisition system.
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