UAE Companies Show Stronger AI Returns as Trust and Governance Become Key
A recent study by SAS and IDC shows that companies with strong artificial intelligence governance and control mechanisms are achieving better returns on their AI investments. In the United Arab Emirates, progress toward trusted AI is moving particularly quickly.
The global AI race is no longer only about adopting the latest technologies. Increasingly, it is about whether these systems can be trusted, governed and ultimately turned into tangible economic value.
The report shows that the organizations achieving the strongest results from AI are not necessarily those using the most advanced technologies. They are primarily those that have established robust mechanisms to govern how AI is deployed and used.
Among organizations that have invested in trusted AI practices, 62% report a high return on investment, compared with just 4% among companies where such practices are less developed.
These organizations also report results 1.85 times higher across 13 performance indicators, including revenue growth, cost reduction and improvements in customer experience. The issue is becoming increasingly important with the rise of agentic AI, systems capable of autonomously carrying out multiple steps of a task and, in some cases, making decisions with limited human intervention.
As AI becomes more autonomous, companies need stronger capabilities to understand, control and audit the decisions made by these systems.
When AI Cannot Explain Its Decisions
According to the study, 97.2% of users say they have overridden an AI-generated recommendation at least in some situations.
The main reason cited is the system's inability to explain why it reached a particular decision.
This lack of explainability can have direct consequences for businesses. When employees must routinely verify or correct AI-generated recommendations, some of the expected productivity gains are lost.
Trust also declines as AI systems become more autonomous. According to the report, trust falls from 76% for generative AI to 66% for agentic AI.
The challenge, therefore, is no longer simply to generate an answer quickly. Businesses also need to determine whether that answer is reliable and understand the data and reasoning behind it.
Only 17.5% of companies currently have a fully optimized data infrastructure capable of meeting the requirements of agentic AI, according to the report.
Organizations with optimized data infrastructure are four times more likely to anticipate a high return on investment from their AI projects.
They are also six times more likely to implement controls focused on data quality and AI explainability.
The message for businesses is increasingly clear: investing in AI models alone is not enough. Performance also depends on the quality of the data used to train and power these systems, as well as on the governance structures surrounding them.
The UAE Moves Toward Trusted AI
The United Arab Emirates is among the countries where this transformation is advancing rapidly.
The country's national AI strategy and Dubai's AI roadmap have accelerated the development of governance mechanisms across both the public and private sectors.
“Organizations in the UAE have rapidly moved from AI ambition to adoption,” said Michel Ghorayeb, Managing Director of SAS UAE.
According to Ghorayeb, this progress is partly driven by a top-down approach, with authorities encouraging the rapid deployment of AI governance frameworks alongside the technology itself.
The issue of trust is becoming increasingly important as the UAE seeks to strengthen its position as one of the world's leading AI hubs.
Abu Dhabi and Dubai are investing heavily in digital infrastructure, data centers, advanced technologies and international talent. For companies operating in these fields, the ability to deploy reliable and well-governed AI could become another factor shaping the UAE's attractiveness as a global technology hub.
In sectors such as banking, insurance, healthcare and government, where algorithmic decisions can have significant consequences, governance is becoming an essential component of digital strategy.
For the UAE, the next stage of its AI development will therefore be about moving from rapid adoption toward a model in which innovation, governance and economic returns advance together.
The AI race is no longer simply about who can deploy the technology fastest. Increasingly, it is also about who can make it reliable enough to create lasting business value.
Caroline Haïat
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