In a recent Global AI Workplace Report by Freshworks, the UAE stood out as a global leader in technology, particularly in AI capabilities. 84 per cent of the UAE workers who participated in the study are comfortable using AI tools and consider themselves experts in Artificial Intelligence. 

80 per cent of the surveyed workers consider AI tools essential for enhancing their work processes, with 29 per cent using AI-enhanced applications daily and 81 per cent using them at least weekly. This widespread use leads to more efficient and higher-quality work, saving UAE workers saving up to 5 hours a week, which is 20 per cent more than the global average.

When it comes to the purpose of using these AI tools, content creation, data analysis, and text and audio translations stand out the most, highlighting the region’s diverse workforce from over 200 nations. Additionally, AI tools are significantly used for coding, research, and brainstorming. These insights also guide organisations towards strategic investments.

The study also finds that 51 per cent of UAE workers use free online AI tools, raising data privacy concerns due to the potential exposure of sensitive information. While organisations in the Middle East are increasingly addressing these risks by purchasing authentic AI software for work, concerns about potential threats and other areas of employee engagement persist.

Recently, People Matters had an exclusive interaction with Sandie Overtveld, Senior Vice President - APJ & MEA at Freshworks, who shared additional insights and key strategies to seamlessly integrate AI into work, while mitigating potential risks. 

Here are the edited excerpts: 

The report finds that the majority of UAE workers trust that AI adds value to their work. In your opinion, what are the key factors contributing to this high level of trust? How do you think this trust impacts employee engagement and productivity?

In my experience, the workforce in the Middle East finds AI valuable once it proves it can eliminate mundane tasks and make the workweek more enjoyable. This gradually leads to an increase in trust levels in AI tools, especially when the AI isn't hallucinating or providing inaccurate answers. 

In addition, as people become more familiar with how these tools work, how to ask the right questions, and how to automate tasks, their trust in AI continues to grow. This trust is especially higher on a personal level compared to the corporate level, where concerns about security are more prevalent. Many companies still need to develop policies on how employees should interact with AI. However, as the report shows, about 70 per cent of people are already using it, so the question is no longer whether to adopt it but how to manage its use effectively.

It’s akin to the early days of the internet, when some companies restricted access and, as a result, many of those companies no longer exist. The real question now is how to adapt to and embrace AI quickly.

How would you describe the current state of AI adoption across workplaces in the Middle East? Which sectors do you see leading the way in AI adoption, and what are the key challenges faced when implementing AI tech for work? How can organisations address these challenges to ensure smooth and effective AI integration?

Freshworks has been integrating AI into its products for over five years now, so AI usage is more common than people might realise. When asked about AI, many immediately think of something like ChatGPT, which is just one specific application of AI. Therefore, it’s crucial to differentiate between generative AI, which provides new answers, and other machine learning tools that serve different purposes. It can be surprising to learn this, but people have been interacting with AI more often than they realise, potentially for half or more of their workday. For instance, the report indicated that AI saves nearly five hours per week for workers in the Middle East, which is almost an entire workday. Now, these five hours are often spent on mundane tasks that can make work feel less appealing.

For trust challenges in AI for work, Organisations can set clear objectives for its use to achieve measurable results. They also need to address policy concerns, particularly regarding data security. For instance, using a free version of a generative tool like ChatGPT can lead to company data becoming part of the model, which can be concerning for companies worried about exposing proprietary information.

For us, the approach has been to build AI features in a robust, enterprise-focused manner that ensures data security and protects personal information. We design our products to leverage the capabilities of large language models while keeping the learning specific to each company’s instance. This means that the AI learns from your data without sharing that knowledge beyond your organisation.

Similarly, organisations need to consider these factors when implementing AI. Most are seeking ways to use AI to gain a competitive edge and capture market share. This is particularly evident in the Middle East, where adoption rates are high, especially in IT and marketing. Those that don’t find ways to leverage AI may struggle as their competitors advance.

What initiatives are in place to upskill employees and ensure they are prepared to work with AI technologies? Are there any particular skills or competencies that are becoming increasingly important due to AI adoption?

The upskilling of employees for AI technologies is industry-specific, for example, a software developer must have AI experience on their resume to get better opportunities. But for general office workers, the key skill should be learning how to effectively ask questions and utilise AI tools. Similar to early search engines, where clarity in queries was crucial, generative AI requires users to be precise in their commands. 

As AI evolves, such as ChatGPT now being able to generate images, it’s essential to describe a scene or concept clearly. For instance, one of our new team members used AI to create a complex image representing their first 90 days on the job—something that would have taken an artist hours to produce manually. AI can also handle tasks like summarising lengthy interactions, making it easier to manage information without getting bogged down by details. 

The real skill set people need is to articulate their needs clearly and leverage AI effectively. This involves being comfortable with technology and understanding how to verify the relevance and correctness of AI responses. Similar to early Satellite Navigation systems, where users had to adapt to changing information, AI requires users to check and validate its outputs. 

AI can also serve as a powerful training tool by identifying patterns and suggesting improvements without the need for extensive manual review. For example, AI can rank and coach employees based on their performance metrics, accelerating the development process.

AI also helps ensure consistency in communication by adjusting tones and styles, making interactions smoother regardless of language proficiency. Overall, AI’s role is to augment human skills, eliminate mundane tasks, and enhance trust and efficiency in various work contexts.

In your observation, how has AI changed the dynamics of the Middle East workforce? What are the positive or maybe negative impacts you have noticed? Additionally, what role do leaders play in fostering a culture that embraces transformative shift? Can you share any examples of successful AI initiatives led by organisations in the region?

When it comes to AI changing the workforce dynamics, I think it's important to differentiate between several aspects.

For example, for IT workers, the technical expertise needs specific skills to build and manage AI systems for the company. For general employees, expertise lies in how to use AI in their daily work, with focus on effectively interacting with AI tools to boost productivity.

For management and strategic leaders, the focus shifts to a strategic understanding of AI. As managers need to be open-minded and capable of breaking existing paradigms to leverage AI for improving productivity and driving growth. For example - While my LinkedIn profile might not list AI skills explicitly, there's an assumption that I understand AI’s role due to my industry experience. Therefore, AI badges and certifications are mostly prevalent in the tech community. It raises the question of whether AI becomes a strategic skill or just an expected one. If someone isn’t comfortable with AI, it could be a challenge.

What roles do leaders play in this shift?

In my experience, Leaders are deeply engaged with AI. They may not be building it, but they are exploring how it can support their company’s strategic goals and accelerate growth. This engagement can be at both technical and strategic levels. 

Furthermore, one of the first questions companies ask when evaluating AI software is - about its capabilities, security, and how it can enhance team productivity. The focus is on using AI to make current teams more efficient, not on replacing them with robots. The conversation centres on augmenting existing skills and providing employees with new capabilities without requiring additional learning.

How do you foresee the role of AI evolving in the near future within Middle Eastern workplaces? What emerging trends or innovations do you believe will significantly influence the future of work in the region?

One of the key trends is multimodal AI, which mimics human capabilities by handling various types of inputs including, visual, oral, or verbal. While we often think of AI as simply answering questions, it’s much more versatile. For example, Samsung phones use multimodal AI to translate between languages in real-time, enabling me to communicate with a driver who speaks Arabic while I speak English. Such a technology makes the world smaller and more accessible, especially in the workplace. It means that one can support multilingual environments with just one language skill, expanding the talent pool and making it easier to find the right people.

Another practical example of multimodal AI is dealing with a situation where you ordered a blue dress on an e-commerce platform but received a different colour instead. By sending just one picture of the incorrect dress to the platform’s customer service via chat, the AI can recognise the difference between ordered and delivered dresses, understand your issue, and offer to send you a return label and the correct dress. This kind of AI understands the context of your request, whether it’s a text, voice message, or image, and handles it accordingly. 

From a human perspective, AI has the potential to simplify many tasks we currently manage with human-like capabilities, enhancing interactions with companies, suppliers, and consumers. If something is easy to handle on an e-commerce site, why should it be difficult to get a new mouse at work? The goal is to remove friction and make work environments as seamless and enjoyable as our best consumer experiences.

AI is evolving so quickly that we haven’t yet fully imagined its potential. In a year, we might find ourselves amazed at what’s possible as AI continues to eliminate mundane tasks and enhance our everyday lives.

One significant concern with AI is the fear of job loss. How can HRs and organisations motivate employees to embrace AI tools at work and build trust in these technologies? Additionally, what effective feedback mechanisms can organisations implement to gather employee opinions on AI tools and address any concerns or negative feedback they may have?

In my opinion, no revolution has ever caused a net loss of jobs; rather, they have shifted job expectations and requirements. From the industrial age to the internet age, and now to the mobile and AI ages, each shift has transformed roles rather than eliminating them entirely. As mundane tasks become automated, new, more stimulating jobs emerge, often requiring greater skill. AI won’t necessarily mean a million fewer jobs; it will mean a million different jobs. 

Part of addressing this change involves helping people feel comfortable and equipped for new roles. For example, while there’s a significant digital divide in some regions, like parts of Africa, the Middle East is generally well-equipped with skilled and tech-savvy individuals. However, closing that digital gap will be crucial to enabling more people to take on new roles.

While we don’t offer feedback surveys as a product, our AI integrates sentiment analysis into ticketing systems. It can detect changes in tone during interactions and adjust responses accordingly, such as escalating issues or increasing empathy. 

In terms of employee feedback, AI is expected to evolve beyond traditional surveys. Instead of snapshot feedback at a given time, AI will analyse ongoing interactions and patterns to gauge overall sentiment and workplace atmosphere. This approach provides a more accurate picture of employee morale and satisfaction over time, capturing fluctuations that a single survey might miss. 

In conclusion, AI will enhance our capabilities to understand and respond to employee feedback dynamically, making it possible to measure and improve workplace culture continuously.

What advice would you give to organisations in the region looking to start or enhance their AI adoption journey? How can they ensure that AI not only improves business processes but also enhances the overall employee experience?

My advice to organisations contemplating AI adoption is: Don’t get left behind. If you focus on it, you will see positive results.

If you're unsure about the first steps, I recommend that management clearly define your objectives. Start with small, measurable initiatives that show quick returns. This approach makes it easier to justify further investments. Today, many companies are increasing their budgets for AI tools because they see the value in them. It’s crucial to set clear objectives and be prepared to experiment and iterate. Not all investments will be perfect, so be ready to adjust and refine your approach continuously.

If you're using standard platforms or software, check what AI investments those vendors have made. You don’t need to reinvent the wheel. HR tech market players are investing heavily to bring advanced solutions to the forefront quickly. Often, what you might be planning to develop is already available in existing products. Consult your trusted software partners, as augmenting your current investments with their solutions can be less expensive and risky. Evaluate the returns and then decide where to focus your efforts next.