Photo Credit: WAM
Dubai, UAE — June 2026 — Investors in the UAE rank among the most active users of artificial intelligence tools globally, including generative AI, deploying them for research and idea generation around financial and investment decisions, while still preferring human expert advice when it comes to actually pulling the trigger, according to a new report from HSBC.
The report, titled “The Human Edge vs. AI,” surveyed 9,993 wealthy and high-net-worth individuals across 10 markets, including 703 investors from the UAE. Its findings point to the emergence of a new hybrid model in which AI tools accelerate exploration and analysis, while specialist advisors provide context, validation, and accountability at the decision-making stage. The UAE, as the report notes, is at the forefront of this shift.
The numbers are striking. Some 98 percent of UAE investors use AI tools in various aspects of their lives, the highest rate among all 10 markets surveyed, tied only with India, and well ahead of the UK at 76 percent and the US at 75 percent. When it comes to financial and investment matters specifically, 83 percent of UAE investors use AI, compared to a global average of 73 percent.
UAE investors lean most heavily on AI for analysis and research, at 78 percent, and for supporting their investment strategies, at 61 percent, the second-highest rate among all surveyed markets. They also value AI’s role in boosting their confidence when discussing options with financial advisors, comparing investment choices , and reducing anxiety or emotional bias in decision-making.
AI is also reshaping how UAE investors approach risk. Some 63 percent say AI tools help them better understand calculated risks, placing them second only to India at 64 percent, and significantly above the global average of 49 percent and all Western markets in the survey, the US at 44 percent and the UK at 39 percent. UAE investors also attribute an average of 36 percent of their investment returns over the past 12 months to AI, among the highest figures across all markets and above the global average of 33 percent.
Yet despite this enthusiasm, trust in human expertise remains firmly intact. A majority of UAE investors say they prefer a hybrid model combining AI tools with specialist advisors, above the global average of 50 percent. Some 39 percent describe their preferred approach as using AI for initial exploration, then having a specialist advisor verify findings before any investment decisions are made.
Barry O’Byrne, CEO of Global Wealth Solutions and Premier Banking at HSBC, said customers are not choosing between AI and expert advice but sequencing them. Craig Worobec, Head of Wealth Solutions and Premier for the UAE and Middle East at HSBC, said the UAE is among the most AI-proficient communities in the world, and that this ambition shows clearly in how people invest.
The influence of AI extends beyond portfolios, too. Some 74 percent of UAE investors say AI improves their quality of life while more than a third say it has broadened their professional horizons.
The findings align with HSBC’s own strategy of expanding AI support tools for wealth management advisors, including the continued rollout of its Wealth Intelligence platform, powered by a language model drawing on more than 10,000 data sources spanning HSBC research and external information providers.
