AI-related job vacancies in the Gulf nearly triple in four years

Artificial intelligence is becoming an increasingly important requirement in the Gulf job market, but its impact on hiring remains limited across much of the region’s economy, according to new data from recruitment platform GulfTalent.

The study found that AI-related duties, skills, or tools were mentioned in 3.4% of professional vacancies advertised across the UAE, Saudi Arabia, and Qatar during the first half of 2026, equivalent to roughly one in every 30 jobs. That is up from 1.2% in 2022, meaning the share of AI-related vacancies has nearly tripled over the past 4 years.

The increase follows the launch of ChatGPT in late 2022, which accelerated the adoption of generative AI across businesses. Over the past two years, the growing use of workplace AI platforms such as Claude, Gemini, and Copilot has further increased demand for professionals with AI capabilities.

Despite the rapid growth, AI hiring remains concentrated in a relatively small number of industries. The technology sector leads by a wide margin, with nearly one in three vacancies requiring AI-related skills or responsibilities. Banking and audit follow, with approximately one in 15 job openings referencing AI.

Outside these sectors, however, AI adoption in recruitment remains limited. Oil and gas and real estate each reference AI in roughly one in 30 vacancies, while construction, retail, healthcare, manufacturing, education, and hospitality mention AI in just one in 100 vacancies or fewer.

The research also found that demand for AI skills increases with seniority. Around one in every 30 non-supervisory roles involves AI, compared with roughly one in 12 senior leadership positions, reflecting employers’ growing expectations for executives to lead AI strategy, adoption, and business transformation.

A closer look at AI-related vacancies shows that demand extends well beyond developing AI models. Around one-third require employees to use AI in their day-to-day work, another third focus on implementing AI solutions across organizations, and around a quarter involve sales roles for AI products and services. Fewer than one in 10 vacancies are dedicated to building or training AI models.

The research also highlights that AI is no longer confined to technical specialists. Demand is increasingly spreading to sales executives, marketers, product managers, consultants, and other business roles, indicating that AI capabilities are becoming valuable across a broader range of functions.

Internationally, GulfTalent’s findings place the Gulf among the more advanced regions for AI hiring. The platform’s estimate that AI features in 3.4% of professional vacancies is broadly consistent with PwC’s Global AI Jobs Barometer, which found that 3.2% of UAE vacancies required AI skills in 2025. Comparable data from Stanford University’s AI Index shows AI features in 2.5% of job vacancies in the United States and 1.9% in the United Kingdom, while Singapore leads with 4.8%.

The findings are based on an analysis of 118,000 direct employer vacancies advertised across the UAE, Saudi Arabia, and Qatar between January 2022 and June 2026. AI involvement was measured by the share of vacancies referencing AI-related duties, skills, or tools, with AI role categories drawn from a detailed classification of 420 AI-related vacancies posted during the first half of 2026.