A new era is dawning in advertising, driven by the transformative power of artificial intelligence. As artificial intelligence (AI) reshapes industries across the globe, the advertising and marketing sector stands at the forefront of this revolution.
In a collaborative effort, Ipsos and the Advertising Business Group (ABG) explored how professionals from both advertisers and agencies in the UAE and Saudi Arabia are embracing this change.
The resulting insights provide a crucial roadmap, emphasising that the key to sustained success lies in moving beyond early-stage pilots to building a truly mature, reliable and trustworthy AI ecosystem.
“Artificial intelligence is both an opportunity and a responsibility. At ABG, we believe its value lies in pairing innovation with trust, governance, and skills to build a transparent, future-ready ecosystem. The Middle East is set to lead this transformation responsibly and sustainably,” said Eleni Kitra, Executive Director, The Advertising Business Group (ABG) Middle East.
AI fluency is rising, but adoption is uneven
The report shows that artificial intelligence fluency is on the rise. A significant 26 per cent of professionals consider themselves “experts” who use AI on a regular basis. However, a larger group – 57 per cent – have a good understanding of AI but only use it sometimes. This “middle majority” presents a key opportunity, as driving practical integration will be critical to moving them toward regular usage.
The survey confirms that AI is actively being used in the workplace, with 73 per cent of companies embedding it into their workflows. The challenge is no longer awareness, but maturity and scale. While nearly all professionals (96 per cent) have used or are likely to continue using AI tools in their work within the next year, the frequency of use varies significantly by seniority. Executives lead the way, with 74 per cent using AI daily, compared to 55 per cent of senior-level, 43 per cent of mid-level, and 50 per cent of entry-level employees.
The primary purpose for using AI at work is for generating creative content (68 per cent) and data analysis and business intelligence (66 per cent). This indicates that professionals are leveraging AI to power content creation, intelligence, and strategic decision-making, moving beyond simple automation.
“Artificial intelligence is reshaping how we understand audiences and make decisions. At Ipsos, we see it as an opportunity to combine data, technology, and human insights to drive smarter strategies. In the Middle East, agencies and advertisers are poised to lead responsibly, building AI systems that are ethical, transparent and inclusive,” Athanas Jamo, Chief Client Director, Ipsos in MENA.
Acknowledging the positive but addressing the concerns
The overall sentiment towards artificial intelligence is highly positive. A remarkable 89 per cent of the workforce believes AI will have a positive impact on their industry’s innovation and progress.
Professionals see artificial intelligence as an efficiency enhancer, with 75 per cent agreeing that it will help them be more efficient in their roles. They also believe it will improve audience targeting and personalisation (61 per cent) and enhance decision-making by providing better data insights (59 per cent).
However, this optimism is tempered by significant concerns. The most common worry is over-reliance on AI without human judgment (70 per cent), followed by AI bias and unfair treatment (63 per cent) and a lack of transparency in AI’s decision-making (55 per cent).
The survey reveals a general lack of trust in AI’s accuracy and fairness, with only 9 per cent agreeing that AI models are free from bias or that they trust AI-generated content as much as human-created content. These findings underscore that trust, ethics, and governance are the missing links in long-term adoption.
The path to a mature AI ecosystem
To build a mature AI ecosystem, organisations must focus on three key areas: governance, upskilling, and a democratised approach to access.
Strengthening governance and ethics:
Many organisations are still navigating artificial intelligence governance, with 43 per cent having policies that are “evolving and subject to change”.
A clear governance gap exists, and closing it is essential for building confidence and mitigating risk.
Professionals demand transparency and oversight, with 78 per cent agreeing that AI should always have human oversight.
The most important actions for responsible AI use, according to respondents, are ensuring human oversight in AI decision-making (91 per cent) and educating employees on responsible AI usage and ethics (91 per cent).
Democratising upskilling and access:
The survey highlights a significant learning gap. Only 35 per cent of companies offer regular artificial intelligence training sessions, while 26 per cent offer none at all.
Furthermore, training is unevenly distributed, with a heavy concentration in creative and marketing teams (73 per cent).
To future-proof the workforce, organisations must expand access to hands-on learning, role-specific enablement, and continuous AI literacy development.
Shifting from experimentation to enterprise impact:
With most companies past the awareness stage, the strategic priority is now to scale successful pilots into enterprise-wide systems. This requires a clear focus on governance, accountability, and performance metrics.
By doing so, organisations can leverage artificial intelligence to enhance productivity (74 per cent), enable better decision-making through data-driven insights (59 per cent), and revolutionise their industry through innovation (66 per cent).
The advertising industry stands at the forefront of an AI-driven transformation. While the potential for greater efficiency, smarter decision-making, and innovative campaigns is clear, realising these benefits requires more than experimentation.
Agencies and advertisers must invest in building trust, strengthening governance, and fostering continuous learning across their teams.
By prioritising ethical AI practices, democratising access to skills, and scaling successful pilots to enterprise-wide adoption, the industry can move confidently from AI curiosity to measurable performance, ensuring a mature, responsible, and future-ready AI ecosystem.
