Tax, Finance and Legal functions are accelerating Gen AI
A new regional survey by Deloitte shows that organisations across the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) are rapidly adopting Generative AI in their Tax, Finance and Legal functions. Yet, as in many other areas of the business, the shift from experimentation to large-scale adoption is proving far from straightforward.
Based on insights from senior leaders across Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Qatar, and Kuwait, the survey illustrates the rapid acceleration in Generative AI adoption across the GCC. The number of organizations that are not using Generative AI fell sharply from 52% in 2024 to 29% in 2025.
At the same time, 93% of respondents expect AI and Generative AI to have a significant impact on their organizations, highlighting strong regional confidence in the technology’s long-term potential.
“Generative AI has become a mainstream strategic priority for regional leadership teams in tax, finance, and legal,” said Muhammad Bahemia, Middle East Tax Leader at Deloitte. “Leaders clearly recognize the technology’s potential and are being both ambitious and pragmatic.”
The use cases
While early adoption focused on basic productivity tasks such as email drafting, priorities have moved toward research and analysis (41%) and accuracy and quality improvement (38%).
According to the researchers, this shift reflects a transition from efficiency-led experimentation to more strategic value creation.
Automation continues to be a major opportunity area, with 53% of respondents prioritizing automation, particularly in data validation and data reconciliation. However, Deloitte noted that leaders are increasingly emphasizing quality over speed, with research and data analysis accounting for 41% of current Generative AI applications, signalling demand for deeper analytical support rather than simple task automation.
The implementation challenge
Across several reports around the world, Deloitte has consistently been finding – and warning its clients – that AI roll-out is easier said than done. In fact, as it stands, most AI investment struggle to reach their full potential for a range of reasons including leadership commitment, lack of focus on change management and capacity building, alongside flawed technical implementations.
The survey in the GCC’s tax, finance, and legal scene is no different, pointing out that only 9% of organizations have begun scaling solutions, and just 10% report having enterprise-wide AI strategies and governance frameworks in place.
Overall, more than 63% remain in pre-implementation stages, underscoring the need for clearer operating models, stronger governance, and structured adoption roadmaps to translate ambition into measurable outcomes.
“The survey shows that many organizations are still navigating how to move from pilots to scalable impact,” noted Mohamed Serokh, Partner at Deloitte.
He added that the next phase for GCC organizations must focus on structured execution, which include initiatives such as prioritizing high-impact use cases in research and tax analysis, strengthening governance frameworks, investing in workforce readiness, ensuring responsible adoption, and of course orchestrating a disciplined approach to implementation.
