A new report from Salesforce reveals that 62% of businesses in the UAE are aggressively shifting their digital strategies to accommodate the rise of AI-powered search. As consumers move away from traditional search engines toward conversational AI assistants, local companies are prioritizing the optimization of product content, enhancing natural-language queries, and feeding data directly into AI platforms. This transition has become the primary focus for regional commerce leaders, even outpacing traditional goals like customer acquisition and omnichannel expansion, as firms rush to ensure their brands remain visible within AI-generated responses.

The success of these AI initiatives is closely linked to how well a company manages its information, with unified customer data emerging as a critical differentiator. Organizations that have successfully integrated their data report significantly better outcomes, including improved conversion rates, faster customer issue resolution, and tighter alignment between sales and marketing teams. However, the report also highlights persistent gaps in the broader digital experience; many B2B organizations still struggle with fragmented ordering systems, inconsistent inventory tracking, and disconnected customer touchpoints, suggesting that while the appetite for AI is high, there is still substantial work to be done in perfecting the underlying infrastructure.