A new regional survey by Deloitte’s Tax & Legal practice reveals that organisations across the GCC are rapidly integrating Generative AI (GenAI) into their tax, finance, and legal functions. However, the report highlights a significant challenge as many businesses struggle to move beyond pilot programmes and achieve enterprise-wide scale.
The survey, which gathered insights from senior tax and finance leaders in Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Qatar, and Kuwait, shows a dramatic increase in adoption. The rate of non-adoption is projected to fall from 52% in 2024 to just 29% in 2025, signalling that GenAI is now a mainstream priority for regional leadership.
From Experimentation to Strategic Value
Initial forays into GenAI focused on basic productivity enhancements like drafting emails. Now, the focus has matured, shifting toward more strategic applications. Research and analysis now account for 41% of use cases, followed closely by improving accuracy and quality at 38%.
This evolution indicates a clear move from simple efficiency gains to creating tangible business value. The confidence in the technology’s long-term potential is high, with 93% of respondents expecting AI to have a significant impact on their organisations.
The Ambition-Execution Gap
Despite the widespread optimism, a pronounced gap between ambition and execution remains. While 18% of organisations are actively piloting GenAI use cases, only 9% have successfully begun to scale these solutions.
Furthermore, a mere 10% report having comprehensive enterprise-wide AI strategies and governance frameworks in place, with over 63% of businesses still in pre-implementation stages. This data underscores the need for clearer operating models and structured roadmaps to turn AI potential into measurable outcomes.
Expert Commentary On Regional Trends
Deloitte’s leadership noted the pragmatic yet ambitious approach of the region’s businesses.
Muhammad Bahemia, Middle East Tax Leader at Deloitte, said, “The pace of Generative AI adoption across the GCC reflects a region that is both ambitious and pragmatic. Leaders clearly recognize the technology’s potential, but many are now confronting the harder question of how to scale it responsibly. Through our work across tax, finance, and legal functions, Deloitte is helping organizations translate innovation into disciplined execution.”
Mohamed Serokh, Partner at Deloitte Middle East, added, “What we’re seeing across the GCC is a clear shift from curiosity to action. Leaders recognize GenAI’s potential to fundamentally reshape tax, finance, and legal functions, particularly in research, analysis, and quality improvement. However, our survey also shows that many organizations are still navigating how to move from pilots to scalable impact.”
The Path Forward Structured Execution and Governance
The survey concludes that while experimentation is prevalent, the next critical phase for GCC organisations involves structured and disciplined execution. To successfully scale GenAI, businesses must prioritise high-impact use cases in research and tax analysis, strengthen their governance frameworks, and invest in workforce readiness to ensure responsible and impactful adoption.
About Deloitte
Deloitte is a leading global provider of audit and assurance, consulting, financial advisory, risk advisory, tax, and related services. It serves many of the world’s most admired brands, including nearly 90% of the Fortune 500 and more than 8,500 U.S.-based private companies.
Source: Gulf Business
