91% of Saudi Organisations Say AI Is Meeting or Exceeding Expectations
RIYADH — Saudi Arabia’s artificial intelligence market is entering a new phase focused less on experimentation and more on measurable enterprise outcomes, with SAP arguing that trusted data, governance and integrated business processes will determine which organisations successfully scale AI.
Recent SAP research conducted with YouGov found that 91% of organisations said their AI initiatives were meeting or exceeding expectations, while 59% reported that AI investment was being prioritised strategically across the enterprise.
The findings point to a shift from isolated pilots towards treating artificial intelligence as a long-term operational capability embedded into core business processes.
Ahmed Al-Faifi, Managing Director and Senior Vice President of SAP Middle East and Africa – North, said Saudi organisations were moving rapidly from AI ambition towards enterprise execution. SAP’s official management information confirms Al-Faifi currently leads the company’s Middle East Africa – North region.
“Saudi Arabia is moving quickly from AI ambition to enterprise execution, and this creates a clear leadership challenge for organizations across the Kingdom,” Al-Faifi said.
He argued that agentic AI can create significant value only when supported by trusted business data, governed processes and clear accountability.
SAP frames this transition through its Autonomous Enterprise vision, where AI becomes integrated into business operations and supports both decision-making and execution while remaining subject to human direction and oversight.
The challenge is particularly relevant for sectors including energy, manufacturing, logistics, financial services and government, where AI-generated actions must meet stricter requirements around accuracy, accountability and compliance.
Data quality is also becoming a central issue. AI systems operating on inconsistent or poorly governed business information can struggle to generate reliable recommendations or automate decisions effectively.
Manos Raptopoulos, Global President of Customer Success for Europe, APAC, Middle East and Africa and a member of the Extended Board of SAP SE, said organisations should increasingly judge AI by precision, scalability, governance and business impact rather than novelty.
“The winners will not be those with the most AI features,” Raptopoulos said. “They will be those who treat AI as a core operating layer.”
For Saudi enterprises, the next phase of adoption will therefore depend on whether organisations can connect AI to trusted data, established workflows and clear governance structures.
As the Kingdom continues investing in AI infrastructure and innovation, the measure of success is increasingly shifting from the number of pilots launched to the operational and financial value those systems can deliver.
