Salesforce executive says reskilling, digital literacy and workforce redesign will determine whether AI creates long-term value or disruption in the Gulf.
As companies across the Gulf accelerate AI adoption, workforce experts are warning that technology alone will not determine success in the next phase of workplace transformation.
According to Mohammed Alkhotani, the businesses currently seeing the strongest productivity and customer outcomes from AI are those redesigning their workforces proactively rather than reacting after disruption has already begun.
Speaking on International HR Day, Alkhotani said organisations need to look beyond automation and focus on how AI will reshape jobs, skills and leadership structures over the coming years.
“The conversation around AI often begins with productivity, but the bigger opportunity is really about how work, and the workforce, evolves,” he said.
“AI has the ability to create significant capacity within organisations, helping teams move faster, operate at greater scale, and rethink how work gets done. But the real value is not simply in efficiency, it is in what organisations choose to do with that capacity.”
Alkhotani said the organisations likely to benefit most from AI adoption will be those using technology to shift employees towards work requiring creativity, judgement and relationship-building rather than repetitive administrative tasks.
“The most forward-thinking organisations will use this moment to create more space for people to focus on higher-value work, work that requires judgment, creativity, innovation, relationship-building, and the uniquely human capabilities that technology cannot replace,” he said.
As AI systems become increasingly capable of operating autonomously — often referred to as “agentic AI” — employers are facing growing pressure to prepare workers for changing job requirements and emerging skill gaps.
According to the World Economic Forum, 39% of existing skill sets are expected to become transformed or outdated by 2030, increasing demand for reskilling, AI fluency, data literacy and systems thinking.
Alkhotani said workforce transformation should now be treated as a leadership issue rather than solely a technology initiative.
“That is where AI moves from being a technology conversation to becoming a leadership conversation. And this is where HR has a critical role to play,” he said.
He also pointed to national economic strategies across the Gulf that increasingly place workforce readiness and digital capability at the centre of long-term growth plans.
“Across our region, from the UAE to Saudi Arabia, we are already seeing national agendas place workforce readiness, digital capability, and human potential at the centre of economic transformation. Organisations should be thinking the same way.”
The comments come as businesses globally continue experimenting with AI tools capable of independently managing workflows, analysing data and automating routine processes. While many organisations have focused on productivity gains, analysts increasingly warn that poorly managed implementation could widen skills gaps and create workforce instability.
Alkhotani said companies investing in employee support and retraining are likely to be better positioned for long-term adaptation.
“For leaders, that means looking beyond technology deployment and asking a bigger question of how do we bring our people with us?” he said.
“Organisations that invest in reskilling, redeploying talent, and supporting employees through change will ultimately build a workforce that is more agile, more capable, and more prepared for the future.”
He added that AI adoption should be viewed as an opportunity to rethink how work is structured rather than simply reduce labour costs.
“It opens the door to rethinking how work is designed, building new skills, redeploying talent into more meaningful, higher-value roles, and preparing the next generation of employees for a very different world of work.”
“The future of work will not be defined by AI alone, but by leaders who use it to unlock human potential.”
