Middle East Outpaces Global AI Adoption as 92% of Organisations Report Productivity Gains: Autodesk
Organisations across the Middle East are moving rapidly from AI experimentation to broader business adoption, with 92% reporting productivity gains from AI compared with 84% globally, according to new findings from Autodesk’s 2026 State of Design & Make: AI Pulse report.
The research also found that 87% of Middle East organisations feel an urgent need to adopt AI, the highest level recorded globally and significantly above the global average of 68%.
AI investment is also accelerating across the region. Nearly half of respondents, or 49%, said their organisations had significantly or substantially increased AI investment over the past year, compared with 40% globally.
The findings cover organisations across architecture, engineering, construction, operations, design, manufacturing, and media and entertainment, indicating that AI adoption is increasingly extending into core business processes rather than remaining limited to pilot projects and experimentation.
Beyond productivity, organisations in the Middle East are reporting stronger business outcomes from AI than their global counterparts. Some 90% said AI is having a positive impact on innovation, compared with 77% globally, while 78% reported improvements in decision-making, compared with 65% worldwide.
AI adoption is also expanding across specific enterprise applications. Use of AI assistants and chatbots increased from 46% to 56% year-on-year, while adoption of AI-enabled design programmes reached 57%. AI use within project management platforms rose from 41% to 49%.
The trend comes as governments and businesses across the region pursue large-scale digital transformation initiatives, including Saudi Arabia’s Vision 2030 and the UAE National Artificial Intelligence Strategy 2031, alongside investments in smart infrastructure, industrial digitisation and urban development.
AI Investment Shifts Towards Productivity and Resilience
The research indicates that productivity, resilience and delivery performance are among the key factors driving AI investment in the region.
Generative AI, process automation and decision-support systems are among the leading areas of investment planned for the next 12 months. Interest is also growing in agentic AI, with 56% of respondents expecting their organisations to use the technology within the next year and 18% already using it.
The region also reports relatively high confidence in its data foundations. Some 91% of respondents said their organisation’s data is well structured, while 90% said their data is secure.
However, scaling AI remains challenging. Lack of talent and skills was identified as a barrier by 59% of respondents, followed by implementation costs at 55% and integration with existing systems at 54%.
Security and Accuracy Remain Key AI Concerns
As AI adoption expands, organisations are shifting their attention towards the risks associated with deploying the technology at scale.
Concerns about job displacement have declined year-on-year, while concerns around enterprise-level risks such as security, accuracy and governance have become more prominent. Security was identified as a concern by 54% of respondents, while concerns around AI accuracy rose from 33% to 48%.
Despite these challenges, the research points to continued confidence in growth opportunities. Some 85% of Middle East respondents said their organisations are considering entering new markets, compared with 73% globally.
“The Middle East is moving faster than most markets from AI ambition to AI impact. But the real test is not how quickly organisations adopt AI. It is whether they can use it to deliver better projects, better decisions, and better-performing assets,” said Naji Atallah, Head of Construction and Manufacturing, EMEA Emerging at Autodesk. “AI will only create value if it is built on trusted data, connected workflows, and the discipline to reduce rework across the full project lifecycle. That is where construction and manufacturing leaders have an opportunity to turn investment into real delivery advantage.”
