UAE investors lead global shift to AI tools for managing money, says survey

As the UAE accelerates plans to integrate advanced artificial intelligence (AI) into public services, investors in the country are also moving faster than anywhere else to use AI for managing money, according to a global study.

The inaugural State of AI for Wealth in 2026 report by BridgeWise surveyed 2,100 investors across 19 countries and ranked markets on adoption, confidence, perceived advantage, and forward momentum. The UAE placed second overall but ranked first globally on momentum, meaning respondents here showed the strongest intent to replace traditional investment research with AI tools within the next 12 months.

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The findings come as UAE leaders continue to push broader AI adoption across government and the wider economy. This week, Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum said the federal government would move toward integrating next-generation tech into services, with a wholly new UAE government framework to deploy Agentic AI across 50 per cent of government sectors, operations within two years. 

Across the country, AI is increasingly being positioned as a core infrastructure rather than an experimental tool, spanning government services, healthcare, transport, education, and finance. That wider shift now appears to be influencing investor behaviour.

Globally, 78.3 per cent of respondents said they already use AI in investment decisions, while 65.1 per cent said they plan to replace traditional research methods within a year. The transition is strongest among younger investors, with 57.8 per cent of those aged 18 to 35 identifying as frequent users, compared with 26.9 per cent among those aged over 50.

The Middle East ranked first among all regions in the study, ahead of North America, Europe, and Asia-Pacific, with the UAE and Saudi Arabia driving that performance.

In the UAE, the findings point to a market where adoption is high and parallel with a rapid acceleration, supported by a growing financial technology ecosystem and a population generally receptive to digital services.

The report also identified a sizeable group of what it called “untapped believers”. Around 29.3 per cent of respondents who do not currently use AI for investment research said they already trust its accuracy. The main barrier, according to the study, is not skepticism but the limited availability of tools designed specifically for investing.

That gap may narrow quickly. The Dubai International Financial Centre is now home to more than 1,500 fintech, AI, and innovation firms, helping expand access to new financial technologies across retail and institutional markets. The UAE fintech sector is also projected to grow from $3.16 billion in 2024 to $5.71 billion by 2029, according to industry estimates, as firms increasingly embed AI into core services rather than offering it as an add-on.

BridgeWise chief executive Gaby Diamant said the next divide in wealth management would center on access to specialized intelligence built for investing.

For the UAE, the report suggests AI adoption is moving beyond curiosity into practical routine financial behavior. And with public services, businesses, and investors increasingly using intelligent systems; the country’s AI transition vision is a matter of time.