UAE shoppers are increasingly starting their buying journeys by asking AI assistants questions, prompting businesses to change how they present products and services online, according to new Salesforce research.
The findings come from the UAE edition of Salesforce’s fourth State of Commerce report, which looks at changing shopping habits and how businesses are responding to the growing role of artificial intelligence.
Globally, the report found that the use of AI-powered search as the first step in shopping journeys increased 200 per cent year-on-year. Traffic referred from AI chats also rose between 150 per cent and 428 per cent across the quarters measured.
Businesses adapt
UAE businesses are already changing their online strategies to appear in AI-driven searches.
According to the report, 62 per cent have created or improved content for conversational and question-based searches. Another 61 per cent have improved product content, while the same share has worked to increase their presence across third-party sources.
About 58 per cent have submitted data feeds directly to AI search platforms. Meanwhile, 37 per cent have adjusted product descriptions for natural language searches and 31 per cent are monitoring how their brands appear in AI-generated answers.
Artificial intelligence now ranks as the top priority for UAE commerce businesses for the year ahead, ahead of customer growth, changing buyer behaviour, omnichannel capabilities and data management.
Data brings results
The research also found links between unified customer data and improved business performance.
Among UAE organisations that have brought their customer data together, 48 per cent reported better results from AI and automation. Some 47 per cent reported better coordination between sales, marketing and commerce teams, while 46 per cent said they achieved more consistent pricing and contract application.
A further 43 per cent reported higher conversion rates and the same percentage said customer retention and loyalty had improved. Another 41 per cent said they were able to resolve customer issues faster.
“The UAE has always understood that technology only matters when it improves how people live and work. What this research shows is a market that gets it. Our commerce leaders are not waiting to see what AI search becomes. They are already reshaping how customers find them, and they are doing the harder work of connecting their data, so the experience actually delivers. The ambition in this country has never been the question. What I see in these numbers is execution catching up to that ambition, and that is when real transformation happens.”, said Mohammed Alkhotani, SVP and GM, Salesforce, Middle East.
Omnichannel gaps remain
The report also identified areas where UAE businesses still face challenges in connecting different sales channels.
For B2B companies, ordering systems that operate separately across multiple platforms were the most common issue, reported by 44 per cent of organisations.
Another 37 per cent said their inventory data was not updated across channels in real time. Some 35 per cent struggled to identify customers consistently across different channels, while the same percentage reported difficulties with returns and exchanges.
Inconsistent pricing and promotions across channels were cited by 33 per cent of businesses.
Only 1 per cent of UAE multichannel organisations reported having no significant breakdowns in their customer experience.
tanvir@dubainewsweek.com
