Middle East CEOs enter 2026 with high confidence and disciplined AI adoption
CEOs across Saudi Arabia and the UAE are heading into 2026 with clear priorities: growth, responsible AI, and talent. A new regional outlook from KPMG shows confidence levels above global benchmarks and a practical shift from experimentation to execution.
Saudi Arabia: confidence backed by delivery
In Saudi Arabia, 88% of CEOs are confident in their company's growth over the next three years. The catalysts: Vision 2030 reforms, regulatory clarity, and sustained digital transformation across sectors.
Leaders point to diversification, infrastructure upgrades, and investment in new industries as the momentum drivers. With policy support and deeper capital markets, the operating environment is increasingly supportive of innovation and scale.
Responsible AI is moving from intent to capability. Some 84% of Saudi CEOs say they are ready to deploy AI responsibly (vs. 76% globally), supported by national data governance efforts led by the Saudi Data & AI Authority and programs such as Humain. Headcount plans are positive too: 68% expect to expand their workforce, fueled by tech-enabled roles and the Human Capability Development Program.
On sustainability, 76% have embedded ESG into corporate strategy (vs. 44% globally), and 92% are confident they can meet evolving regulations. AI is seen as an accelerator, with 88% expecting it to play a key role in decarbonization, transparency, and performance improvement.
Where Saudi CEOs are investing
- AI integration: 36%
- Cybersecurity: 44%
- Workforce upskilling: 24%
The priority mix shows a balance: protect core operations, modernize data and security, and build talent pipelines. As one executive noted, organizations are integrating AI into the core of their strategies, backed by better data, workforce readiness, and governance built for trust and agility.
Reinforcing this, Cisco's AI Readiness findings indicate 51% of Saudi organizations already use AI in security operations, with 60% highly aware of AI-driven cyber risks. Security and AI are advancing together.
UAE: people-first AI adoption
In the UAE, optimism remains among the highest globally. Some 84% of CEOs are confident in the country's economic outlook for the next 12 months (vs. 81% globally), citing stable fundamentals, consistent policy, and continuous investment in diversification, talent, and advanced tech.
Three-year company growth confidence sits at 80%. The hiring outlook is strong: 84% expect to expand headcount, 80% are redesigning roles to integrate AI collaboration, 72% are retraining high-potential employees, and 64% are recruiting new AI or tech specialists.
AI is a clear investment priority, with 52% naming integration as a top focus and 92% stating their organizations are ready to deploy it responsibly. On sustainability, 44% have integrated ESG into strategy, and 76% see AI as critical for decarbonization and transparency.
What this means for executives
- Upgrade AI governance now: Define principles, create a review board, implement model risk management, and audit data lineage. Treat responsible AI as both a compliance and trust strategy.
- Move work, not just jobs: Redesign roles around AI collaboration. Map tasks to automation potential, reallocate high-value human work, and set outcome KPIs (cycle time, accuracy, cost per task).
- Tie AI investment to security posture: Pair every AI initiative with a cybersecurity control plan. Include model abuse testing, prompt injection defenses, data leakage prevention, and incident playbooks.
- Fund skills at the same pace as tech: Stand up an internal academy with role-based pathways for product, data, security, and operations. Measure utilization, certification rates, and time-to-proficiency.
- Operationalize ESG with data: Centralize emissions and supply chain data, apply AI for anomaly detection and forecasting, and align reporting with evolving standards. Link incentives to verified progress.
- Balance the portfolio: Allocate near-term resilience (security, core systems) alongside long-term bets (AI platforms, data quality, workforce upskilling). Review the mix quarterly as capabilities mature.
Board-level questions to pressure-test readiness
- Where is AI in production today, and what measurable value did it deliver last quarter?
- What are our top model risks, and how are we monitoring bias, drift, and data exposure?
- Which roles have been redesigned for AI collaboration, and what productivity gains are verified?
- How does AI support our net-zero and compliance commitments, and what proof do we have?
- Is our cybersecurity investment keeping pace with AI deployment across functions?
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