ABU DHABI (ALETIHAD)
A total of 83% of UAE investors are using artificial intelligence in their finance and investment decisions against a global average of 73%, a survey by HSBC has found.
The survey report, titled “The Human-AI Advantage”, is based on responses from 9,993 affluent and high-net-worth individuals globally, including 703 from the UAE.
The findings show that AI is playing an increasing role in investment research, idea generation and risk assessment in the UAE, but it has not displaced the role of professional financial advisers in final decision-making.
According to the report, 98% of UAE investors use AI across their lives, making the UAE the joint-highest adopter among the 10 markets surveyed, alongside India. In finance and investment, UAE investors use AI mainly for analysis and research, cited by 78%, and strategy support, cited by 61%.
The report said UAE investors value AI for increasing their confidence when discussing options with a financial adviser, comparing investment options and reducing anxiety or emotional bias in decision-making.
AI is also reshaping risk appetite among UAE investors. The report found that 63% of UAE investors say AI supports them to take better-calculated risks, compared with a global average of 49%. UAE investors also attributed an average of 36% of their investment returns over the past 12 months to AI, compared with 33% globally.
However, HSBC said greater confidence in AI has not displaced the adviser. A majority of UAE investors, or 56%, prefer a hybrid model in which AI and human advisers work together. The single most preferred future workflow, cited by 39% of UAE respondents, is to use AI for initial discovery and then have a human adviser validate the findings before acting.
Financial professionals and institutions remain the leading source of UAE investors’ last investment idea, cited by 61%, and the most influential voice in their final investment decision, cited by 34%. AI-powered tools or platforms were cited by 35% as a leading source of the last investment idea, but only 13% said they were the most influential source in the final decision.
UAE investors said the top values advisers provide that AI cannot are helping them understand when AI-generated information might be wrong, cited by 33%; providing human judgement and emotional validation, also cited by 33%; and helping them stay on track to their goals, cited by 31%.
Barry O’Byrne, CEO of International Wealth & Premier Banking at HSBC, said clients are not choosing between AI and professional advice.
“Clients aren’t choosing between AI and professional advice – they’re sequencing both. AI is helping clients explore faster, but when they reach the moment of decision, they want a trusted human checkpoint for context and validation,” he said.
Craig Worobec, Head of Wealth & Premier Solutions, UAE & Middle East, HSBC, said the UAE is one of the world’s most AI-fluent societies.
“The UAE is one of the most AI-fluent societies in the world, and our research shows that ambition runs right through to how people invest. UAE investors are among the world’s most confident users of AI — and among the boldest — yet they tell us clearly that they still want a trusted human checkpoint before they commit,” Worobec said.
The report said the findings are in line with the UAE’s wider AI direction. “The findings land at a moment of accelerating national AI ambition,” the report said, adding that the UAE National Strategy for Artificial Intelligence 2031 positions AI as a central pillar of economic diversification, while the Artificial Intelligence and Data Authority brings data, AI, and digital-government capabilities under a single national framework.
The survey also found that AI’s impact goes beyond investing. A total of 74% of UAE investors said AI is improving their quality of life, compared with 63% globally. More than a third said AI has made them question their current career or business, expanded what is possible for their professional life, or given them confidence to pursue high-risk, high-reward opportunities.