AI Training for Executives in the UAE and Saudi Arabia
AI training for executives in the UAE and Saudi Arabia should be short, practical and built on the leaders' own material: board papers, reports, contracts and strategy documents. In a half day, a leadership team can learn to use ChatGPT, Claude or Copilot safely on that material, agree the rules the rest of the company will follow, and pick the first two or three processes where AI should save time. A full day adds a session on where AI fits in the company's own products and operations.
This guide covers what such a workshop should include for leaders in the Gulf, how it differs from training employees, the data rules to settle first, and how to run it in Arabic, English or both.
Why do Gulf leadership teams need their own AI session?
Both countries have made AI a national priority, the UAE through its National Strategy for Artificial Intelligence 2031 and Saudi Arabia through SDAIA and Vision 2030. Boards and ministries now ask executives what their AI plan is, and many companies have already bought ChatGPT, Copilot or Gemini licences that staff barely use.
Executives decide three things employees cannot: which tools are approved, what data may go into them, and which processes get redesigned. If leaders have not used the tools on their own work, those decisions are made from vendor slides. A session where they do it themselves changes that quickly.
What should an executive AI workshop cover?
- Hands-on use on leadership work. Summarising a long report into a one-page brief, preparing for a meeting from several documents, drafting a board update, and comparing two proposals against the same criteria.
- What AI is reliable for, and what it is not. Where it saves real time, where it makes things up, and how to check an answer before it goes into a decision.
- Data and governance rules. Which tools are approved, which data classes are allowed, and who signs off. In the UAE and Saudi Arabia this should be read against the federal and Saudi personal data protection laws and your sector regulator's rules, with your legal team in the room or on the draft.
- Choosing the first processes. Each leader brings one process from their area. The group scores them by time spent, risk and data sensitivity, and picks two or three pilots.
- A 30-day plan. Who is trained next, which pilot starts first, and how success is measured.
My half-day executive workshop agenda sets out the timings in detail.
How is it different from training employees?
| Executive session | Employee training | |
|---|---|---|
| Goal | Decisions: tools, rules, priorities | Skills on daily tasks |
| Material | Board papers, reports, contracts | Emails, templates, routine documents |
| Length | Half day or one day | Half day to multi-week |
| Output | Approved tools, data rules, pilot list | Templates, shared prompts, team Projects |
| Group | 5 to 15 leaders | Up to about 15 per session |
Most companies get the best result from doing the executive session first, then rolling training out to departments under the rules the leaders agreed. My 30-day rollout plan for ChatGPT or Copilot describes that second step.
Arabic, English, or both?
In Gulf companies, board material is often in English while internal communication and some leaders work mainly in Arabic. I run sessions in either language or both, and the exercises follow the language of the real documents. The AI tools themselves handle Arabic well enough for summaries, drafts and translation, but Arabic output still needs a careful read for tone and terminology, and the workshop practises exactly that.
On site or online?
Both work. On site in Dubai, Abu Dhabi or Riyadh is better for a leadership offsite or when the group is larger. Online works well for a half day, and Cairo is only one or two hours behind the Gulf, so sessions sit inside the normal working day.
What does it cost?
I publish prices for remote sessions: a half-day workshop starts at USD 500 and a full day at USD 800, with executive one-to-one coaching at USD 100 an hour. On-site delivery uses the same day rate with travel and accommodation added at cost. The full list is on the remote AI training page, and the AI training cost guide compares market prices.
Frequently asked questions
Which AI tool should the workshop use?
The one the company already pays for or plans to approve, whether ChatGPT, Claude, Copilot or Gemini. The skills transfer between them, and practising on the approved tool avoids a second round of training.
Can confidential documents be used in the session?
Only on a company plan that IT has approved for that data, and only documents the legal team is comfortable with. Otherwise we use anonymised versions or realistic examples from your sector.
How many leaders can attend?
Five to fifteen works best for a hands-on session. Larger groups are split into two sessions or supported with an assistant facilitator.
What happens after the workshop?
You leave with the approved-tools list, the data rules, the pilot list and the 30-day plan. A short follow-up after 30 days checks what stuck and adjusts the plan.
I run this workshop for leadership teams in the UAE, Saudi Arabia and Egypt, online or on site. See AI training for employees and executives or book a free scoping call through the contact page.