Artificial Intelligence Saudi companies reap savings benefits with AI By Valentina Pasquali February 20, 2025, 11:08 AM Alamy In power and water, every percentage point of savings is 'huge', according to Sawaco's CEO Sawaco increases output by 8% Saves recordkeeping time Challenges to mass adoption remain Companies in Saudi Arabia are already seeing the benefits of artificial intelligence (AI) in boosting efficiency and productivity. Sawaco Water Group, a desalinisation company in Jeddah, for instance, has reduced power consumption by 7 percent and chemical consumption by 15 percent at its largest plant since implementing new AI-driven monitoring systems, its CEO said this week. Nizar Kammourie added that water production had increased 8 percent “with the same equipment, same pumps, same energy recovery turbines”. “In desalination plants, when you talk about over 3, 4, 5 percent power-reduction without new technology, without changing pumps, without changing equipment; it is something huge,” said Kammourie, speaking at an event hosted in Jeddah by the local American Chamber of Commerce. AI is also saving local companies valuable time in recordkeeping and compliance, especially in connection with Saudi Arabia’s growing environmental and sustainability requirements, said Fawaz Abu-Ghazaleh, chief executive officer of the sustainability consultancy Remedium Network. “There is a lot of required documentation; some of it is stuff that is repetitive,” Abu-Ghazaleh said. “This is where we see that agentic AI can learn from your past responses, streamline those bureaucratic processes and increase your efficiency, at least gives better use of your time.” Deals worth $15bn on day one of Saudi Leap tech event Oil and gas companies place trust in AI Adnoc pioneers agentic AI to boost production forecasts by 90% Agentic AI is the technology that powers AI agents so that they can act autonomously without human oversight. However further investment is needed in hard and soft infrastructure – from power-hungry data centres, to workforce training, to the regulatory environment – to improve the uptake of AI by small-and-medium enterprises in Saudi Arabia, said Loulwa Bakr, a senior partner at Saudi investment advisory company Chrome Advisory. Bakr cited Lucidya, a Saudi tech-based customer experience platform, as a good example of a company using AI successfully. She also noted that food delivery company Jahez, on the board of which she serves, has used AI to “deliver bespoke customer experiences”. “We do have a lot of beautiful examples,” Bakr said. “But mass adoption?”
