Technology

As artificial intelligence continues to transform the business landscape, organizations across the UAE are reimagining their customer service strategies to keep pace with rising consumer expectations. According to Salesforce’s 7th State of Service Report, AI is moving rapidly from pilot testing to full-scale deployment, reshaping how service teams operate across industries and organization sizes.

Service Transformation Accelerates Across the UAE

The report highlights a nationwide shift toward modernization and digital integration. Service leaders in the UAE identified improving service technology, enhancing data quality, and elevating the customer experience as their top priorities. These goals reflect increasing operational pressures — from managing higher service demand and rising costs to navigating persistent hiring challenges.

AI is emerging as a powerful tool to address these issues. By automating routine tasks and supporting agents in real-time during customer interactions, AI is freeing service teams to focus on complex cases that require human judgment, empathy, and creativity.

Customer Expectations Reach New Heights

Salesforce’s findings reveal that UAE consumers now expect more personalized and responsive service than ever before. Most service professionals report that customer expectations have grown significantly in recent years, with many organizations anticipating a further surge in service cases over the next 12 months.

AI is already easing the strain on service teams. Currently, about one-third of customer inquiries are resolved through AI, and that figure is projected to rise to around 50% within the next two years. As AI becomes more embedded in operations, it is expected to improve efficiency, accuracy, and overall customer satisfaction.

From Chatbots to Multimodal AI

The UAE’s approach to AI in service delivery is becoming more sophisticated. Many organizations are now implementing multimodal AI systems capable of managing interactions across voice, text, and other formats within the same conversation.

For companies utilizing voice AI, handovers between automated systems and human agents are increasingly seamless — reducing friction and ensuring a more natural experience for customers. Moreover, these innovations are helping improve accessibility, allowing organizations to better serve individuals with different communication preferences or needs.

Data Modernization at the Core

A clear commitment to data integration and modernization underscores the UAE’s approach to sustainable service transformation. Many organizations are investing in upgrading their platforms and addressing data quality challenges — steps that not only support AI adoption but also build trust among employees and customers.

Once fully implemented, AI-driven service models are expected to deliver measurable results, including:

• Higher customer satisfaction and loyalty

• Enhanced upselling and cross-selling opportunities

• Reduced service costs and improved operational efficiency

At an individual level, the benefits are also clear. Service professionals who are comfortable working alongside AI report higher productivity, greater job satisfaction, and stronger career prospects, illustrating how digital fluency is becoming a key skill in modern service roles.

AI as a Partner, Not a Replacement

Mohammad Al Khotani, Senior Vice President & General Manager, Salesforce Middle East, emphasized that AI’s role is to empower, not replace, human employees:

“Across the UAE, we’re seeing organizations move beyond experimentation and into practical deployment of AI within service teams. The focus is not on replacing people, but on helping them manage growing demand while delivering the level of service customers now expect. AI is becoming part of how service work gets done — not a separate initiative.”

The 7th State of Service Report demonstrates that UAE organizations are not merely adapting to AI; they are embracing it as a strategic partner in redefining customer engagement, operational excellence, and workforce empowerment — driving the nation toward a smarter, more connected service future.

• Tags
• #Business
• #Magazine
• #Lifestyle