#Saudi #UAE #adoption - Saudi Arabia and the UAE have increased AI spending dramatically, but scored just 50 and 48 out of 100 respectively on ServiceNow’s Enterprise AI Maturity Index, pointing to a widening gap between investment and execution. Organisations in Saudi Arabia increased AI spending by 124 percent year-on-year, while those in the UAE upped spending by 105 percent. 57 percent of organisation in the UAE and 48 percent of those in Saudi have implemented agentic AI, but only a small fraction (7% and 10% resspectively) have used it to build autonomous workflows. So, it seems AI is mostly still helping employees work faster rather than actually changing how businesses operate. The ServiceNow report is based on a ThoughtLab survey of 4,500 executives globally, including 100 Saudi executives and 100 UAE executives.
SO WHAT? - Organisations in Saudi and the UAE expect AI to make up almost a fifth of total IT budgets by 2027. However, the research finds that fragmented legacy systems and poor data readiness are holding execution back. It also suggests that the UAE’s well-documented government-level AI push has outpaced what enterprises at large have managed to build internally. Closing the gap between ambition and implementation will likely take integration and governance work rather than further increases in investment.
KEY POINTS:
American cloud software company ServiceNow has published its 2026 Enterprise AI Maturity Index. The report is based on a ThoughtLab survey of 100 executives in Saudi Arabia and 100 in the UAE, among 4,500 globally.
The Index measures maturity across seven pillars:
AI vision, strategy, and leadership
Management and culture
AI governance
Data modernization
AI-enabled workflows
Talent and skills
Driving value from AI
Organisations in the UAE achieved an AI maturity score of 48 out of 100 (up 13% year-on-year), while those in Saudi Arabia scored 50 overall (up 17% year-on-year). AI spending increased 105% in the UAE and 124% in Saudi Arabia, with executives surveyed in both countries expecting AI to account for almost one-fifth of total IT budgets by 2027.
According to the ServiceNow report, just 14% of UAE organisations and 13% in Saudi have replaced legacy systems with platforms integrating AI. The finding points to AI being deployed across fragmented, siloed workflows, rather than a unified operational backbone.
77% of UAE executives and 67% of Saudi executives cited inadequate data accuracy, access and management as a major barrier to scaling AI across their organisations.
Only 16% of UAE organisations and 18% of Saudi organisations were found to have implemented AI testing, auditing and risk management processes. The report identifies this gap as a key constraint on scaling AI safely.
The UAE’s government-led strategy and regulatory leadership have given organisations a genuine head start. Businesses pulling ahead are moving from AI pilots to full orchestration across legacy systems, data, governance and AI agents.
Globally, organisations with the highest AI maturity achieve an average AI return on investment of 160%, rising to a projected 194% within two years. They are also 5.6 times more productive and 2.7 times more successful at scaling AI than lower-maturity peers.
ServiceNow’s Enterprise AI Maturity Index 2026 surveyed 4,500 executives and 2,000 employees across 19 countries and 12 industries.
[Written and edited with the assistance of AI]
Source: ServiceNow
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AI activity is pushing Gulf networks toward breaking point (Middle East AI News)
Quarter of UAE, Saudi firms run AI unchecked (Middle East AI News)
Many UAE firms unprepared for AI risk (Middle East AI News)
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