UAE organisations edge past global peers in AI leadership
GCC organisations now match global AI leaders in maturity
#GCC #research – Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) organisations have achieved parity with global AI leaders, while UAE organisations edge ahead of global peers in AI leadership. According to a Boston Consulting Group (BCG) study, 42 percent of oganisations in the UAE have achieved ‘AI Leader’ status, 40 percent of organisations in Saudi Arabia and 39 percent of GCC organisations, compared to the global average of 40 percent, The research, which surveyed 200 C-suite executives in the GCC and assessed 41 digital and AI capabilities across seven industries, reveals that the GCC public sector has achieved the highest AI maturity levels globally across all surveyed markets, whilst AI maturity across the region surged 8 points between 2024 and 2025.
SO WHAT? – According to the BCG study findings, the financial impact validates the region’s AI investments, with GCC AI Leaders delivering up to 1.7 times higher total shareholder returns and 1.5 times higher EBIT margins compared to AI Laggards, whilst dedicating 6.2 percent of IT budgets to AI versus 4.2 percent for laggards. As AI budgets continue growing, the value generated by AI Leaders is expected to reach 3-5 times higher levels by 2028, significantly widening the performance gap. This demonstrates that Gulf organisations are successfully moving beyond experimental pilots toward comprehensive enterprise-wide implementation. The study found that 37% of UAE organisations and 35% of Saudi organisations have now reached the critical ‘Scaling’ maturity stage.
Here are some key points about the study:
Global management consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG) has released a study “Unlocking Potential: How GCC Organisations Can Convert AI Momentum into Value at Scale,” comparing the region’s datapoints on digital and AI adoption to global findings from similar surveys. The research surveyed 200 C-suite executives and assessed 41 digital and AI capabilities across seven industries.
GCC organisations have achieved near-parity with global AI leaders, with 39% now qualifying as AI Leaders compared to the global average of 40%. The research reveals that UAE organisations lead the region with 42% achieving AI Leader status whilst Saudi Arabia matches the global benchmark at 40%.
The study reveals successful AI Leaders distinguish themselves through five critical strategic moves. These include pursuing multi-year strategic ambitions with 2.5 times more leadership engagement than laggards, fundamentally reshaping business processes rather than deploying off-the-shelf solutions, and implementing AI-first operating models with robust governance frameworks. AI Leaders also secure and upskill talent at 1.8 times the rate of competitors, whilst building fit-for-purpose technology architectures that reduce adoption challenges by 15%.
Whilst tech, media and telecom continues to lead AI maturity within the GCC, rapid advancement is occurring in financial institutions, healthcare, industrial goods, and travel, cities and infrastructure sectors, highlighting the region’s broad-based AI transformation beyond technology industries.
Looking toward frontier technologies, 38% of GCC organisations are already experimenting with agentic AI, positioning the region competitively against the global average of 46%, with value generation from agentic AI initiatives projected to double from 17% currently to 29% by 2028.
AI Laggards remain 18% more likely than AI Leaders to encounter people, organisation and process challenges stemming from limited cross-functional collaboration, unclear AI value measurement, misalignment with enterprise strategy or lack of leadership commitment across Gulf organisations.
The UAE’s emergence with 42% of organisations qualifying as AI Leaders reflects strategic investments in AI infrastructure and commitment to the country’s AI 2031 Strategy, with an average AI maturity score of 46 positioning the country at the forefront of regional peers.
Saudi Arabia’s progress with 40% of organisations achieving AI Leader status and an average AI maturity score of 43 demonstrates solid advancement, though 27% of Saudi organisations remain in the ‘Stagnating’ category, indicating significant opportunity for continued improvement across the Kingdom’s diverse economic landscape.
[Written and edited with the assistance of AI]