New Salesforce research reveals that organizations across the UAE are rapidly adapting to a future where AI assistants, not traditional search engines, increasingly shape customer discovery and purchasing decisions
The way consumers search for products online is undergoing a fundamental shift, and businesses in the UAE are moving quickly to keep pace. According to the latest Salesforce State of Commerce report, nearly two-thirds of UAE organizations have already begun optimizing their digital presence for AI-powered search, signaling a significant transformation in how brands compete for customer attention.
The findings highlight a growing reality for commerce leaders: customers are increasingly turning to AI assistants and conversational interfaces to discover products and services instead of relying solely on traditional search engines. As a result, businesses are reassessing how their content, product information and customer data are structured to remain visible in a rapidly evolving digital landscape.
Salesforce’s research found that 62 percent of UAE businesses have already optimized content for conversational and question-based queries, while 61 percent have improved the quality of their product content to better align with how AI systems retrieve and present information. Another 61 percent have expanded their visibility across third-party sources, recognizing that AI platforms often pull information from a variety of digital channels.
The trend reflects a broader global movement. Salesforce reported that agentic search, where AI assistants act as the starting point of the shopping journey, grew by 200 percent year-over-year globally. Traffic referred from AI chat platforms increased significantly across all measured quarters, demonstrating the growing influence of AI-generated recommendations on purchasing behavior.
For UAE commerce leaders, the implications are clear. AI is no longer viewed as an emerging technology experiment; it has become a strategic business priority. In fact, implementing or expanding AI capabilities ranked as the top business objective for UAE commerce organizations this year, surpassing priorities such as customer acquisition, omnichannel expansion, adapting to changing buyer behavior and improving data management.
“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. Commerce leaders are not waiting to see what AI search becomes. They are already reshaping how customers find them and connecting their data so the experience actually delivers,” said Mohammed Alkhotani, SVP and GM, Salesforce Middle East.
The report shows that companies are taking multiple approaches to remain relevant within AI-driven discovery channels. Beyond content optimization, 58 percent of organizations have submitted data feeds directly to AI search platforms, helping ensure that their product information can be accurately indexed and referenced by AI systems. Meanwhile, 37 percent have optimized product descriptions for natural language interactions, making it easier for AI tools to understand and recommend their offerings.
The shift does not stop at visibility. Businesses are also beginning to monitor how AI systems portray their brands. Nearly one-third of UAE organizations now actively track how they appear in AI-generated responses, recognizing that brand reputation and customer trust could increasingly be influenced by AI-generated recommendations.
While AI search optimization has become a priority, Salesforce’s research suggests that the most successful organizations are focusing on a deeper challenge: data integration.
The study found that organizations with unified customer data are achieving significantly stronger business outcomes than those operating with fragmented information systems. Among UAE companies that have successfully unified customer data, 48 percent reported improved AI and automation performance, while 47 percent experienced better alignment across sales, marketing and commerce teams.
The benefits extend directly to business performance. The research indicates that 43 percent of organizations with unified customer data have improved conversion rates, while an equal percentage reported higher customer retention and loyalty. Additionally, 41 percent are resolving customer issues faster, highlighting the operational advantages of creating a single, connected customer view.
These findings reinforce an increasingly important lesson for enterprises investing in AI. Sophisticated AI tools deliver the greatest value when they operate on accurate, connected and accessible data. Organizations that have invested in data quality and integration are seeing measurable gains in efficiency, customer engagement and decision-making.
However, the research also reveals significant challenges that remain unresolved.
Despite widespread digital transformation efforts, many UAE organizations continue to struggle with disconnected customer experiences. For business-to-business organizations, the most common issue is fragmented ordering systems, with 44 percent reporting that ordering channels remain siloed across multiple platforms. Such fragmentation often creates operational complexity and inconsistent customer experiences.
Inventory management represents another major challenge. The report found that 37 percent of businesses lack synchronized real-time inventory information, making it difficult to provide accurate product availability across channels. Similarly, 35 percent of organizations cannot consistently recognize customer information across touchpoints, limiting their ability to deliver seamless and personalized experiences.
Returns and exchanges continue to create friction as well, with 35 percent reporting difficulties managing consistent post-purchase experiences. Meanwhile, 33 percent cited inconsistent pricing and promotions across channels as a significant obstacle to delivering a unified commerce strategy.
Perhaps most striking is the finding that only 1 percent of UAE multichannel organizations reported no significant breakdowns at all, suggesting that even digitally mature businesses still have work to do as customer expectations continue to evolve.
The Salesforce report ultimately points to a pivotal moment for commerce organizations. As AI increasingly becomes the gateway to product discovery and purchasing decisions, success will depend on more than simply implementing AI tools. Businesses must also ensure that the underlying data, content and operational processes supporting those tools are connected, accurate and scalable.
For UAE organizations, the race to compete in the era of AI search is already underway. The companies that successfully combine AI optimization with strong data foundations and seamless customer experiences are likely to be best positioned to capture the next generation of digital commerce opportunities.
