Saudi business AI adoption hits 33% in 2025, up 20% in one year
Cloud computing passes 50% adoption mark across Saudi establishments
#SaudiArabia #digitaltransformation – AI adoption among businesses in Saudi Arabia reached 33 percent in 2025, showing a 20 percent increase on 2024 according to the latest report from the General Authority for Statistics (GASTAT). The information and communications sector leads all industries at 61 percent AI adoption, followed by financial and insurance services at 53 percent and education at 51 percent. The figures come from GASTAT’s Establishments ICT Access and Usage Survey, conducted using methodology aligned with UN Conference on Trade and Development international standards. The report paints a picture of broad and accelerating digital transformation across the Kingdom’s business sector.
SO WHAT? – One in three Saudi businesses now uses AI and that reflects a business sector that is actively responding to government direction, infrastructure investment and competitive pressure. The Kingdom’s government has played an outsized role in driving digital transformation and AI adoption and the results can be seen across both public and private sectors. The growing prevalence of AI across sectors shows that AI adoption is no longer confined to technology companies. According to GASTAT, the adoption rate for finance, education, transport and professional services are all above 40 percent, suggesting the shift is structural rather than concentrated in a handful of digital-native industries.
KEY POINTS:
AI adoption across Saudi Arabian businesses reached 33.1% in 2025, up 20% from the previous year, according to the latest General Authority for Statistics (GASTAT) ICT Access and Usage Survey. The data covers establishments across all major economic sectors and is benchmarked against international standards.
The information and communications sector leads all industries with 61.1% AI adoption, followed by financial and insurance services at 52.9% and education at 51%. Transportation and storage reached 44.4% and professional activities 43.9%, indicating that AI uptake has moved well beyond technology-native sectors.
Cloud computing has crossed the majority threshold, with 51.3% of Saudi establishments now using cloud services. Within that group, 56.4% use cloud-based office software, 55.3% use cloud email services and 42.8% rely on cloud storage, all recording year-on-year growth.
Internet connectivity is near-universal across Saudi businesses, with 98.1% of establishments reporting internet access. E-government service usage has reached 93.2%, reflecting the depth of digital infrastructure now embedded across the Kingdom’s business environment.
IoT adoption is widespread, particularly for building security. 71.4% of establishments use Internet of Things technology for security applications including smart alarms, fire detection, surveillance and access control. Customer service IoT usage stands at 54.6%, while energy management and maintenance applications reach 40% and 25.4% respectively.
E-commerce activity continues to expand, with 33.5% of establishments using the internet to sell or display goods and services. The financial and insurance sector leads at 48.5%. Among establishments receiving online orders, 28% deliver their sales digitally, pointing to growing end-to-end digital commerce capability.
Electronic banking is now mainstream for Saudi businesses, with 79.1% using the internet for banking services. Social media platform usage stands at 66.3%, and 52.3% of establishments advertise their products via social media, reflecting the integration of digital channels across both operations and marketing.
[Written and edited with the assistance of AI]
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Source: GASTAT, Saudi media
Read more about Saudi Arabia’s AI adoption:
Saudi enterprises moving fast on AI with discipline (Middle East AI News)
Middle East workers lead the world on AI adoption at work (Middle East AI News)
76% of Saudi government ready for emerging tech (Middle East AI News)
UAE, KSA leadership highlighted in Stanford AI Index (Middle East AI News)
Saudi AI company registrations triple in four years (Middle East AI News)