News

Workplace Study Reveals Middle Eastern AI Use Is Skyrocketing

The recent findings reveal that 56% of Middle East tech professionals are using AI — a figure higher than anywhere in Europe.

Published

2 years ago

August 21, 2024

Nour Nasir

workplace study reveals middle eastern ai use is skyrocketing

Workforce solutions and recruitment specialists Hays have published a wide-ranging study of 5014 tech professionals and 6178 employers spanning 20 countries.

The company’s Tech Talent Explorer report contains plenty of interesting data, but perhaps the most significant findings concern the growing use of AI. The study reveals that the Middle Eastern tech space is far more progressive than its European counterpart, with greater numbers of tech professionals in the MENA and GCC countries using AI than those in Europe. In addition, more Middle Eastern organizations offer AI support and training than almost anywhere else covered in the research.

Commenting on the study’s findings, Oliver Kowalski, Regional Managing Director of Hays Middle East, said:

“Of course, AI has its risks, but it is here to stay and those that embrace it will reap its rewards. This new data brings to light a competitive advantage for companies in the Middle East looking to hire developers, data and infrastructure professionals, cyber security talent, and other tech specialists. It shows these people’s thirst for AI training, for working on innovative projects with the latest iterations of technologies”.

Key Statistics:

56% of Middle Eastern tech professionals use AI tools. In Italy, the figure is just 28%, while France only manages 29%.
68% of GCC tech professionals associate AI with increased efficiency and productivity, with 50% already using AI tools to aid communication.
66% of all software developers use AI to generate or debug code.
82% of all the tech professionals surveyed desire more AI training, with the Netherlands and Spain topping the poll at 92% and 89%, respectively.
Only 30% of all employers surveyed currently recommend using AI.
Only 24% of GCC tech professionals have received AI training or support, but that figure is still higher than in all European countries (apart from The Netherlands, at 27%).

Also Read: The Most AI-Proof Career Opportunities In The Middle East

The study is freely available as an interactive report — The Tech Talent Explorer — which also compares salaries and “talent attraction factors” for tech professionals across both Europe and the Middle East.

News

Samsung And Spotify Offer Free Premium Deal In MENA

Nearly seven in ten streams in the region come from 18-to-34-year-olds — the audience Samsung is hoping to entice into its ecosystem.

Published

9 hours ago

August 7, 2026

Nour Nasir

Samsung

Samsung has announced a partnership with Spotify spanning the Middle East, North Africa, and Türkiye, bundling Spotify Premium with select devices across its ecosystem. The headline offer — up to four months of Premium for free — is a first for the region.

Customers in Saudi Arabia, the UAE, and Türkiye who buy any OLED or 98-inch television, or any Galaxy S or Z series mobile device, get four months of Spotify Premium. The offer, tiered by market and device, is available at retail and on Samsung.com, and redeemed through the Samsung Promotion and Samsung Members apps.

For Samsung, the strategy is less about free music than about lock-in. The Korean tech giant’s pitch is continuity: a track starts on a Galaxy smartphone through Galaxy Buds on the commute, moves to a Samsung TV and soundbar in the living room, and stays controllable from a Galaxy Watch. The more seamlessly music travels between those devices, the harder it becomes to swap any one of them for a rival’s.

“Technology should bring people closer to the things they love, and few things connect people the way music does,” said Omar Saheb, Regional VP of Marketing and Online Business at Samsung Electronics MENA. The partnership, he added, gives customers “a genuine reason to choose Samsung for the experience, not only the product”.

Also Read: Shokz OpenFit Pro Review: Open-Ear Audio Finally Grows Up

For subscribers, Premium brings the usual package: ad-free listening, offline downloads, richer audio quality on Galaxy Buds and Samsung sound devices, and Jam, which lets friends build a shared queue.

“At Spotify, we are always working to make every listening moment feel more personal, meaningful, and worth it,” said Rami Jamal, Head of Partnerships at Spotify for South Asia, Middle East, and Africa.

The demographics go a long way to explaining the strategy. Across MENA, Türkiye, and Pakistan, nearly seven in ten Spotify streams come from listeners aged 18 to 34, according to the company — precisely the audience Samsung wants inside its hardware ecosystem before buying habits harden.