Noha Gad

Arabic is one of the world’s most significant languages, with around 491 million speakers globally as of 2025. This makes it the fifth most spoken language worldwide and the fourth most used language on the internet. Being one of the oldest living languages, the Arabic language is spoken in 22 countries, primarily across the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region, with additional recognition as a co-official language in countries like Chad and Eritrea.

Despite its broad reach, Arabic presents unique linguistic challenges for artificial intelligence (AI) and natural language processing (NLP) as it is characterized by a complex morphology, rich grammar, and a high degree of diglossia. It also has 25 distinct dialects, ranging from Gulf Arabic and Levantine Arabic to Maghreb and Egyptian Arabic, each with its own phonetic and lexical variations.

This diversity makes it hard for AI systems to accurately understand and generate Arabic text and speech, requiring sophisticated models that can navigate both classical and colloquial forms.

The localization of Arabic AI has become a strategic imperative in Saudi Arabia as the Kingdom moves towards its Vision 2030, not only adopting technology, but also leading the creation of it. 

The convergence of Arabic’s linguistic significance, its inherent complexity, and the Kingdom’s push for technological leadership sets the stage for transformative developments in Arabic AI and NLP. These technologies are not only crucial for enhancing digital communication and services but also for enabling local businesses to thrive in an increasingly digital and globalized economy. 

Saudi Arabia’s efforts to lead the creation of Arabic AI

Recognizing these challenges and the strategic importance of Arabic AI, Saudi Arabia has positioned itself as a regional leader in driving advancements in Arabic language technology. National strategies, such as the National Strategy for Data and AI (NSDAI), play a pivotal role in placing the Kingdom among the world’s top AI economies by 2030. Launched by the Saudi Data and AI Authority (SDAIA) in 2020, NSDAI aims to capitalize on data and AI for the Kingdom economically and socially through national combined efforts by all stakeholders. 

Through this initiative, the Kingdom aspires to build the foundation for competitive advantage in key niche domains in 2025, and compete on the international scene as a leading economy, utilizing and exporting data and AI by 2030.

Key objectives of NSDAI also include attracting investment worth SAR 75 billion in data and AI, and transforming the Saudi workforce with a steady local supply of more than 20,000 data and AI specialists and experts.

SDAIA also collaborated with NVIDIA to launch ALLaM, Saudi Arabia’s first-of-its-kind chat application that chats and responds to users' inquiries in Arabic. The application offers reliable information in all fields and provides updated summaries and suggestions on various topics. Furthermore, the authority partnered with global tech giants, such as IBM and Microsoft, to enhance the deployment of ALLaM.

King Salman Global Academy for Arabic Language (KSGAAL) is another key player in advancing Arabic AI in the Kingdom. In 2024, it launched the Arabic AI Center, the first specialized AI center for automated Arabic language processing. The center is dedicated to enhancing Arabic content in the fields of data and AI, and making it more competitive globally while driving research, applications, and capabilities in AI and the Arabic language.

The Arabic AI Center targets empowering researchers and developers to harness advanced technologies for processing the Arabic language through five advanced labs: Linguistic and AI Modeling Lab, Data Preparation and Linguistic Resources Lab, Virtual and Augmented Reality Lab, Audio and Visual Processing Lab, and Researcher Workspace Lab.

How Arabic AI and NLP empower local businesses?

Industry Applications

The applications of Arabic AI and NLP span various fields. For instance, AI-powered chatbots and virtual assistants can enhance customer services by providing personalized and dialect-aware support, improving user satisfaction and accessibility. In retail and e-commerce sectors, sentiment analysis and feedback mining help businesses understand customer needs and trends.

Finance companies, such as Mozn, harness Arabic NLP engines to advance fraud detection, compliance, and risk management. Additionally, Arabic AI and NLP can promote e-government in Saudi Arabia by enhancing communication and faster, clearer interactions for citizens navigating government portals.

Economic and Social Impact

• Boosting local content. Advancing Arabic AI and NLP tools can increase the availability and quality of Arabic digital content across various sectors.
• Inclusivity and digital literacy. Arabic-first AI tools ensure broader access and participation in the digital economy. 
• Entrepreneurship and innovation. Local developers and startups leverage Arabic AI to build hyper-localized solutions, fostering a vibrant tech ecosystem.

Arabic AI and NLP are projected to deliver substantial economic benefits to the Kingdom over the coming decade. According to PwC, AI could contribute 12.4% of GDP (around $235 billion) by 2030, underscoring the transformative potential of AI across multiple sectors of the Saudi economy. Additionally, the Saudi Ministry of Communications and Information Technology (MCIT) suggested that with a 20% annual growth in the AI market, Saudi Arabia’s GDP is projects to see an uplift of 0.6% above baseline growth by 2030.

On the employment front, AI’s impact is nuanced but promising. While simulations indicate that about 20.5% of current jobs could be automated, the potential for new job creation exceeds this at 23%, leading to a net employment increase of roughly 2.5% by 2030. Saudi Arabia currently focuses on training and certifying thousands of AI specialists to keep pace with this trend, aiming to build a workforce capable of sustaining and expanding the AI ecosystem. Additionally, Arabic AI and NLP are driving significant social transformation by enhancing accessibility, inclusivity, and cultural relevance in digital interactions. 

Key Challenges

• Linguistic diversity and complexity. The complex morphology and rich grammar of the Arabic language pose significant hurdles for AI development. The language features dozens of dialects, requiring AI models to be dialect-aware for authentic communication. Also, Large Language Models (LLMs) must be trained to think in Arabic, not just translate from English or other languages, to capture cultural and linguistic nuances effectively.
• Data scarcity and quality. Although Arabic is the fourth most spoken language in the world, it accounts for less than 1% of internet content. Many existing Arabic LLMs rely heavily on English data, which reduces their efficacy in handling complex Arabic reasoning and dialects. Saudi initiatives, such as ALLaM, play a pivotal role in building large, culturally relevant Arabic datasets to overcome this scarcity.
• Strategic sovereignty and ethical considerations. Building sovereign Arabic AI models is instrumental to ensure that AI systems reflect regional values, cultural norms, and legal frameworks. The Saudi Vision 2030 emphasizes AI sovereignty, promoting models trained on local data governed by regional laws to maintain trust and autonomy.

Saudi Arabia is rapidly advancing toward becoming a global leader in Arabic AI and NLP, driven by its ambitious Vision 2030 and substantial investments in AI infrastructure and talent development. The Kingdom accelerates its efforts to expand generative AI capabilities specifically tailored for Arabic content, including dialectal and classical forms.

The development of sovereign Arabic LLMs like ALLaM, integrated into global technology platforms and supported by advanced data centers powered by the Kingdom’s unique energy resources, positions Saudi Arabia as a regional powerhouse and a significant player on the global AI stage.