AI expansion emerges as top priority for UAE businesses

Expanding artificial intelligence capabilities has emerged as the top priority for UAE commerce leaders, as businesses respond to changing customer behaviour and the growing role of AI in product discovery, according to new research from Salesforce.

The findings, part of the fourth edition of Salesforce’s State of Commerce report, show that UAE businesses are moving to adapt as shoppers increasingly begin their purchase journeys by asking AI assistants questions rather than relying solely on traditional search engines.

Globally, agentic search as the first step in the shopping journey grew 200 per cent year on year, while traffic referred from AI chat services increased between 150 and 428 per cent across the quarters measured.

For UAE commerce leaders, implementing or expanding AI ranks ahead of growing the customer base, adapting to changing buyer behaviour, expanding omnichannel capabilities and improving data quality and management.

Businesses are already taking steps to improve their visibility in AI-led shopping journeys. Some 62 per cent have created or optimised content for conversational and question-based searches, while 61 per cent have improved product content quality. 

The same proportion has increased its presence across third-party sources. Meanwhile, 58 per cent of UAE businesses have submitted data feeds directly to AI search platforms, 37 per cent have optimised product descriptions for natural-language queries and 31 per cent are monitoring how their brands appear in AI-generated responses.

Mohammed Alkhotani, SVP and GM, Salesforce, Middle East, said UAE businesses were already moving beyond experimentation with AI and focusing on how the technology could improve customer experiences.

The research also highlights the benefits of building stronger data foundations. Among UAE organisations that have unified customer data, 48 per cent reported improved outcomes from AI and automation, while 47 per cent saw better alignment between sales, marketing and commerce teams.

A further 46 per cent reported more consistent pricing and contract application, while 43 per cent said they had increased conversion rates and the same proportion reported improved customer retention and loyalty. Another 41 per cent said they were able to resolve customer issues faster.

However, challenges remain across UAE omnichannel operations, particularly for B2B organisations. Siloed ordering channels across multiple systems were identified as the most common breakdown, affecting 44 per cent of businesses.

Real-time inventory data that is not synchronised affects 37 per cent, while 35 per cent struggle to consistently recognise customer information across channels. The same proportion reported difficulties with complicated or inconsistent returns and exchanges.

Another 33 per cent cited inconsistent pricing and promotions across channels. Just 1 per cent of UAE multichannel organisations reported having no significant breakdowns, underscoring the operational challenges businesses face as they build more connected commerce experiences.

The findings suggest that as AI increasingly influences how customers discover and evaluate products, UAE businesses are prioritising both AI capabilities and the underlying data infrastructure needed to make them effective.