The United Arab Emirates is one of the most complex markets for those seeking scale and effectiveness. Among the roughly 200 nationalities that make up the resident population, expatriates account for around 85 percent, staying for an average of just 4.4 years. This fluid demographic, coupled with pronounced linguistic and cultural diversity, makes it difficult to rely on traditional customer segmentation or historical purchase data.

Against this backdrop, the ability to hyper-personalise products and services has become a key competitive differentiator – which is where generative AI (GenAI) comes in. The UAE’s appetite for innovation, forward-looking regulation and flexible data protection laws has made it one of the fastest adopters of the technology. The majority of the population use GenAI tools regularly, and consumers show a relatively high willingness to share their data with companies in exchange for personalisation and loyalty benefits. 

For example, a study on grocery retail trends by consulting firm Oliver Wyman found that UAE-based consumers were consistently more open to using AI tools than their peers in the United States. A total of 71 percent of UAE respondents were interested in customised promotional offers (vs. 56 percent of US respondents), and 55 percent expressed interest in enhanced online customer service chatbots (vs. 17 percent of US respondents).

In this article, we build on insights from our recent panel discussion at INSEAD’s Middle East Campus on hyper-personalisation in marketing, exploring how marketers in the UAE are using GenAI to provide individualised experiences to its diverse and dynamic population. 

The UAE’s unique need for personalisation

Tried and tested segmentation variables, such as past behaviour, age, life stage and income level, offer limited predictive power when your customer base is inherently fluid and turns over every four or so years. This challenges the very foundations of established personalisation practices, requiring agility and new approaches.

GenAI provides a way forward. By ingesting and processing multilingual content, cultural nuances and real-time behavioural signals simultaneously, it enables contextual personalisation at a scale, speed and cost-effectiveness that traditional methods can’t match. UAE customers increasingly expect this level of tailored engagement; a survey found that 67 percent of respondents wanted businesses to remember their previous shopping experiences and preferences to tailor their browsing journeys. 

The rise of predictive and culturally aware AI

Business in the UAE have moved quickly to put these abilities to work. For instance, Abu Dhabi-based technology company e& (formerly Etisalat) announced a partnership with Amazon Web Services to deploy GenAI technologies that generate real-time personalised recommendations across its ecosystem. The technology analyses customer preferences to suggest tailored products across multiple touchpoints, well beyond what traditional algorithms could achieve.

Emirates NBD (ENBD), one of the UAE’s leading banks with over 9 million customers and 35,000 employees across 13 countries, began its transformation even earlier. As far back as 2021, before GenAI gained global momentum, it set out to become an AI-driven organisation, focusing on internal capability-building, cultivating AI-native talent and unlocking new growth streams. 

Today, ENBD uses predictive GenAI to deliver personalised customer experiences at scale, including advising first-time retail investors on tailored investment solutions and recommending appropriate spending strategies in real-time. The bank aims to generate a five- to seven-times return on its AI investment through data-driven initiatives.

What makes this a genuine strategic shift, and not an incremental upgrade, is the move from reactive to anticipatory personalisation. Rather than inferring future preferences from consumers’ past behaviour, GenAI continuously processes streams of unstructured, near-real-time data – including social activity, voice interactions and browsing patterns – to anticipate customer needs at the right moment, and with the right context.

GenAI also enables personalisation grounded in cultural intelligence, which is especially critical across the UAE and broader Middle East. In a multicultural society where religious and cultural calendars shape consumer behaviour, AI-powered adaptability marks a meaningful evolution: personalisation that’s both precise and culturally appropriate, reflecting local sensitivities.

Challenges and considerations

Even in a progressive, innovation-first market like the UAE, this degree of personalisation faces real obstacles. Below are five hurdles for marketers to overcome:

1. Algorithmic bias: AI must avoid discriminating based on nationality, religion or cultural background. This requires diverse development teams, clear compliance guardrails and strong ethical guidelines.

2. Data privacy: Data protection regulations require businesses to balance personalisation ambitions with respect for individual privacy rights.

3. Date sovereignty: Frequent cross-border travel patterns within the region make it difficult for marketers and technologists to navigate different countries’ respective data regulations. 

4. Cultural evolution: Demographics and cultural diversity add complexity to GenAI training, as AI models must continuously learn new inputs and preferences.

5. Integration complexity: Legacy systems and traditional marketing tools can slow down the adoption of GenAI platforms.

We explored these tensions at our panel discussion, joined by industry experts Marie de Ducla from Google and Joe Abi Akl (MBA'11D) from Oliver Wyman. Both underscored potential personalisation risks, including the personalisation paradox: consumers increasingly expect relevance, but excessive personalisation can backfire if it feels intrusive or limits serendipitous discovery. There’s also the risk of a “sea of sameness” – if every marketer deploys AI-generated personalisation, how does anyone stand out?

De Ducla pointed to Etihad Airways’ Black Friday campaign as a compelling answer. The airline used AI-driven insights to match consumers’ purchase interests to relevant travel destinations (e.g. suggesting a trip to Paris for someone interested in buying a Louis Vuitton bag). This campaign turned shoppers into passengers, resulting in one of the airline’s best digital sales days on record and demonstrating that personalisation can enhance creativity rather than constrain it.

Indeed, the commercial case is becoming harder to ignore. A recent study showed that retailers experimenting with AI-powered personalisation are seeing a 10- to 25-percent increase in return on ad spend for targeted campaigns.

The path forward

The UAE’s experience with AI-driven personalisation offers a blueprint for marketers in other culturally diverse, economically dynamic markets. Organisations that navigate cultural complexity, address privacy concerns and take a clear-eyed view of regulation will be best placed to compete – and the lessons being learned in the UAE today can be used to shape personalisation strategies across emerging markets tomorrow.

GenAI-enabled personalisation represents a real shift in how businesses can serve sophisticated, globally connected consumers. For the UAE, it’s an opportunity to lead the next phase of digital transformation while honouring the cultural legacy that makes the country distinctive.

The authors would like to thank Marie de Ducla, Ads – Sales Lead at Google, and Joe Abi Akl (MBA'11D), Partner and IMEA Retail & Consumer Practice Head at Oliver Wyman, for their invaluable contributions to our panel discussion.