The financial services and banking sector is predicted to become the highest spender on artificial intelligence technology in the Middle East and North Africa, according to Google. The sector will have a share of almost 25 per cent of all AI investments in the region, with the use of the technology in banking alone expected to contribute up to 13.6 per cent to the region's gross domestic product by 2030, the Alphabet-owned company said in the Future of AI in the Mena report. "This would take shape through a range of applications, such as deep learning for algorithmic trading, fraud analysis and investing, as well as smart portfolio management and customer profiling," the report said. The overall potential effect of AI on the region's economic growth is significant, with the Mena region estimated to accrue $320 billion by 2030 from the value added by the technology. This is mostly from costs saved through automating processes, as well as improving products and services across the region's industries, the report said.

Big global banks are increasingly turning toward Artificial Intelligence (AI) technologies to stay competitive in the digital era. AI has huge benefits, for both banks and their customers. The implications of AI disruption in the financial sector is that the analysis of users' habits, activities, behavioral characteristics, and financial data products can be customized to meet and anticipate each user's unique and evolving needs. This makes it viable for each user to have his/her own digital personal financial assistant. Automated financial advisors and planners assist users in taking financial decisions.