Saudi Arabia's Year of Artificial Intelligence comes as businesses face a more practical question about AI: how to make it work across everyday operations. 

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Businesses across the Middle East are moving into a more demanding phase of AI adoption, with the focus shifting from pilots and proof-of-concepts toward wider use inside organizations. Deloitte Middle East will put that transition at the center of its fourth consecutive appearance at LEAP 2026 in Riyadh, with a September 2 program focused on enterprise AI, resilience, governance and the practical challenges of broader deployment. 

Agentic systems, AI governance and the growing use of the technology alongside robotics and connected infrastructure will feature in the program, with clients and alliance partners also joining discussions around workplace AI, cyber resilience and trusted AI. The focus comes as Saudi Arabia marks 2026 as the Year of Artificial Intelligence, reflecting the Kingdom's push to expand AI adoption and capability across its economy. 

Deloitte's 2026 State of AI in the Enterprise report offers some indication of where organizations in the region stand. Some 66% of Middle East organizations surveyed reported efficiency gains from AI, but only 34% said they were using the technology to deeply transform products, processes or business models. The research also found that 84% had not yet redesigned jobs or workflows around AI capabilities. Those findings point to a gap between using AI to improve existing work and changing how that work is actually done. Workforce skills remain a significant barrier to integrating AI into everyday operations, while governance becomes more important as systems are given greater responsibility. Only 21% of organizations surveyed reported having mature governance models for autonomous AI systems, an issue that becomes more relevant as companies consider agentic systems capable of taking action across workflows. 

“Organizations across the Middle East have moved quickly from exploring the potential of AI to testing it across their businesses. The challenge now is scale,” said Mutasem Dajani, Chief Executive Officer of Deloitte Middle East. “Scaling successfully means creating tangible value, building resilience into the enterprise, and establishing the governance and trust needed to move forward with confidence. At LEAP 2026, we will bring together clients, alliances, and our own specialists to explore what that looks like in practice.” 

The program will bring together clients and technology partners for discussions on AI governance, cyber resilience and trusted AI, while Deloitte will also demonstrate its AI Blueprint Analyzer. Its presence will extend beyond the stage through an experiential hub and live podcast sessions, giving the firm a platform to discuss how organizations are approaching AI as it moves closer to core operations. The shift from experimentation to wider deployment brings a different set of considerations for businesses. Data, security, workforce skills and governance all become part of the process when AI is introduced into existing systems and workflows, particularly as companies begin looking at systems that can take actions rather than simply generate content or recommendations. Saudi Arabia's focus on AI gives those questions a relevant setting this year, with the technology now firmly embedded in the country's wider economic and digital agenda. 

Deloitte's return to Riyadh therefore comes at a point when the conversation around enterprise AI is becoming more grounded. Businesses have already had time to test the technology and assess its potential. The more immediate question is how those experiments become useful, reliable parts of the organizations already in place. 

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