The UAE has the highest share of people using generative AI anywhere in the world. Microsoft's latest AI Diffusion Report, published on 21 September 2026, puts it at 73.3% of the working-age population in June 2026, against a global figure of 18.8%. For brands in the Gulf and Egypt, that means a big part of your audience now asks an AI assistant before it asks Google, a friend or your sales team.
We are iklipse, a creative and AI production agency working across the GCC, Egypt, North Africa and the US. Here is what the numbers say, and what we think brands in our markets should change because of them.
Microsoft's report puts the UAE far ahead of every other country.
The report comes from Microsoft's AI Economy Institute. It measures the share of people aged 15 to 64 who used a generative AI product during the period. The figures are modelled from anonymised Microsoft usage data and adjusted for things like device market share, internet access and population, so treat them as careful estimates.
Even with that caveat, the gap is striking. The UAE sits at 73.3%. Singapore is second at 64.3%. Norway, Ireland and France come next, all just under 50%. The UAE was also the first country to pass 70%, reaching 70.1% in Microsoft's first-quarter report in May.
It is worth remembering who is counting. Microsoft has invested heavily in the UAE, including a $1.5 billion stake in Abu Dhabi's G42, so it has an interest in the region's AI story. The trend is still clear, and it matches what we see in briefs and meetings every week.
Saudi Arabia is climbing fast, and Egypt is earlier on the curve.
Saudi Arabia moved from 30th to 25th place between the first and second quarters, the biggest jump in the ranking. On Microsoft's map it sits in the top band, above 30% of working-age people. Egypt sits in the 10% to 20% band, close to the global average. So the same campaign can land in one market where most people use AI daily and another where a minority do. Plan for both.
The World Economic Forum says AI could be worth over $1 trillion to the region.
On 14 October 2026, at its Annual Meeting of Global Future Leaders in Dubai, the World Economic Forum released a report with Bain & Company estimating that AI could unlock more than $1 trillion in economic and sustainability value across the Middle East and North Africa by 2030. It is a modelled estimate, and the WEF tied it to conditions: faster grid connections for data centres and careful management of rising energy and water demand.
For a marketing team, the exact number matters less than the direction. Governments and big companies in the region are betting on AI, and their customers are already using it.
When your audience uses AI daily, search and content behave differently.
Someone in Dubai choosing a clinic, a car or a school is increasingly likely to type the question into ChatGPT, Copilot or Gemini and read one tidy answer. They may never see your ad on a results page. They may never open your site. The answer they read is built from whatever the model found about you: your website, reviews, press, menus, price lists and social posts.
That changes three things for brands.
- Being quoted matters as much as being ranked. Clear pages that answer real questions in plain language get picked up. Vague brand copy does not. We wrote about this in our piece on generative engine optimization.
- Arabic content needs the same care as English. If your Arabic pages are thin or machine-translated, assistants will answer Arabic questions with someone else's information.
- Your audience can spot generic AI work. People who use these tools every day recognise the default look of AI images and the rhythm of AI copy. Using AI is fine; looking like everyone else's AI is the problem.
Here is what GCC and Egyptian brands should change now.
- Ask the assistants about yourself. Type the questions your customers ask into two or three AI tools, in English and Arabic, and note what comes back. Wrong prices, old addresses and missing products are the first fixes.
- Write pages that answer one question each. Opening hours, delivery areas, prices, comparisons, FAQs. Short, factual and current. This is the core of our digital marketing and SEO work now.
- Keep facts consistent everywhere. Your site, Google profile, marketplaces and social bios should say the same thing. Assistants trust what repeats.
- Use AI to make more, and direct it to look like you. Audiences in the UAE expect fast, frequent, localised content. AI production makes that affordable, as long as a human sets the look, the casting and the tone so the work stays recognisably yours.
- Plan two speeds for two markets. In the UAE and Saudi Arabia, assume AI-first discovery. In Egypt, classic search and social still carry most of the load, with AI growing fast behind them.
- Label AI work honestly. A heavy-AI audience is also a sceptical one. Our view is in our piece on AI disclosure in ads.
Here are short answers to common questions.
What is the AI adoption rate in the UAE?
Microsoft's AI Diffusion Report estimates that 73.3% of working-age people in the UAE used a generative AI product in June 2026, the highest share of any country.
How does Saudi Arabia rank for AI use?
Saudi Arabia rose from 30th to 25th in Microsoft's ranking between the first and second quarters of 2026, the largest climb of any country, and sits above 30% on Microsoft's map.
Does high AI use change SEO in the Gulf?
Yes. More people get answers directly from AI assistants, so brands need clear, factual pages in English and Arabic that those assistants can find and quote, alongside classic search work.
Is the $1 trillion MENA figure a forecast?
It is a modelled estimate from a World Economic Forum report with Bain & Company, for value by 2030, and it depends on infrastructure such as power and water keeping pace.
Sources: Microsoft On the Issues and Microsoft AI Economy Institute (AI Diffusion Report, Q2 and Q1 2026); World Economic Forum; Khaleej Times; Quartz; WAM. Cover image: Microsoft.
