UAE Marketers Lead in AI Trust But Struggle with Data Silos, Research Finds

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With artificial intelligence transforming the way work is done across industries, marketing is also undergoing a significant shift. Today, with rapid advances in AI, rising customer expectations, expanding data ecosystems, and increasing pressure to deliver measurable impact, marketers globally are adapting how they engage with customers, make decisions, and deliver value.

​A global Salesforce survey, based on responses from 4,450 marketing professionals across 26 countries and six continents, reveals that 46% of marketers are highly satisfied with the results of their marketing efforts, with 26% being fully content. High performers were using AI agents to reclaim eight hours a week.

Notably, these agents played a pivotal role during the holiday season, driving $262 billion in global sales, which represented 20% of total global orders.

​AI implementation and adoption have become a priority for efficiency and personalization at scale. However, it also ranks among the top challenges for marketers. About 86% of marketers say the CMO role is expanding as AI reshapes marketing teams.

Globally, marketers prioritize adapting to AI’s impact on marketing, driving operational efficiency, proving marketing ROI/attribution, and adapting to changing customer expectations and behaviours. The survey noted that AI deployment delivered over 20% gains in marketing ROI and customer satisfaction, along with over 19% gains in conversion rates and over 19% decreases in marketing costs.

Meanwhile, challenges include adapting to Al’s impact on marketing, measuring marketing ROI/attribution, underutilizing tools and technologies, and a lack of capacity or skilled resources.

Marketers’ priorities and challenges persist but differ by region and company.

On AI Gains and Use Cases

In the United Arab Emirates (UAE), they focus on AI implementation, optimizing channel strategy, adapting to AI’s impact on marketing, improving customer loyalty, ensuring brand consistency, and real-time customer data activation. Close to 75% of marketing teams now leverage at least one AI tool to personalize content, predict campaign results, or create visuals.

On the regional front, 85% of UAE marketers trusted AI to respond to customer inquiries, higher than the global average of 81%. With a greater focus on personalization, just 73% run generic campaigns, compared to 84% worldwide. Top ranking use cases for marketers include personalizing content, generating copy, predicting campaign performance, predicting customer behaviour, generating visuals, and testing messaging.

Notably, only 41% of UAE marketers have not figured out how to adapt their strategies to AI, compared to 48% globally, demonstrating faster adaptation to the new technology.

A key challenge remains responding promptly to customers, as the UAE faces a greater difficulty at 78% compared to 69% globally, suggesting a more pronounced data integration challenge.

About 61% of domestic marketers struggle to keep up with changing customer behaviours, compared with 64% globally, indicating slightly better alignment. While ahead in AI trust and adaptation, they face equal or greater hurdles in data integration and responsiveness.

​“The marketers who will win in this new era are those who can unify their data to deliver the personalized, conversational experiences that customers increasingly demand. Data is the foundation upon which all AI success is built,” said Mohammed Alkhotani, Senior Vice President and General Manager, Salesforce Middle East and Africa.