The Saudi market is one of the fastest-changing digital markets in the region. Internet use is near-universal according to DataReportal, e-commerce and digital payments have become part of everyday life, and the new sectors opened up by Vision 2030 — from entertainment to tourism to sport — have created brands, audiences and competition that didn’t exist a few years ago. In this context, it isn’t enough to ask “what are this year’s trends?” The better question is “which shifts will change how we work, and how do we prepare without chasing every fad?”
This article doesn’t offer confident predictions; it reads shifts that have already started and are showing up in day-to-day work.
Shift one: AI in production
AI tools have become part of the workflow in design, writing and video: generating initial ideas, removing backgrounds, extending images, resizing, first-draft translation, summarising data and drafting copy. The clearest effect is speed: what used to take a day may take an hour.
But that moves value rather than removing it. When producing many versions becomes easy for everyone, value shifts to:
- The idea and direction: what we produce and why — which the tool doesn’t decide.
- Taste and judgment: choosing the best from many options, and rejecting what doesn’t suit the brand.
- Originality: fully generated content tends to look alike, and brands that want to stand out need their own style and real imagery.
- Arabic quality: the tools have improved in Arabic, but Arabic typography, right-to-left composition and the subtleties of the language still need an expert eye.
Pay attention to usage rights and privacy when using these tools: don’t upload customer data or confidential documents to public tools, check the commercial terms for generated images, and never present generated images as real photos of products or people.
Shift two: search is changing
Search engines have started showing AI-generated summaries at the top of some results, and some users now put their questions directly to AI assistants. What does that mean?
- Simple informational searches may bring fewer clicks, because the answer appears directly.
- Content that offers real experience, detail and examples becomes more important, because that’s what gets cited and earns the click.
- A brand known by name gets searched by name, and branded search isn’t much affected by summaries.
- The fundamentals remain: a fast, understandable website, structured data, trustworthy content and a solid reputation.
The foundations that remain valid despite these changes are explained in our guide to SEO in Saudi Arabia.
Shift three: privacy and measurement
Saudi Arabia’s Personal Data Protection Law has come into force, with compliance mandatory since September 2024. On top of that, tracking restrictions in browsers and mobile operating systems reduce the data reaching ad platforms. The practical effects:
- First-party data is more valuable: lists of customers who agreed to be contacted, and the purchase data in your own store, matter more than any targeting you can buy.
- Clear consent is essential: in forms and in marketing messages.
- Measurement relies more on modelling and testing: instead of tracking every person, campaigns are measured by overall impact and structured tests.
- Creative becomes the targeting tool: as precise targeting declines, the content itself decides who stops for it.
Measurement methods suited to this reality are in our article on measuring campaign results.
Shift four: video, creators and a regulated industry
Short vertical video has become a shared language across platforms, and content creators have become a core marketing channel. In Saudi Arabia this has come with clear regulation: the Mawthooq licence from the General Authority for Media Regulation for individual advertisers, and rules for advertising content. This regulation raises professionalism in the market and makes collaborations with creators clearer in terms of contracts, disclosure and responsibilities.
What that means for brands:
- Continuous video production capacity, in-house or with partners, is no longer a luxury.
- Working with creators needs selection criteria, contracts and measurement — not just picking whoever has the most followers.
- Content that feels real and close competes with polished content, but professional standards for sound, image and message remain.
Shift five: local identity and pride of place
A clear trend in the Saudi market in recent years has been the rise of brands that express a local identity with confidence — in their names, design, Arabic typography, cultural references and the products themselves. Audiences have come to value brands that resemble them and understand their context, not ones that only imitate global brands.
That doesn’t mean heritage ornament everywhere, but rather:
- Contemporary Arabic typography used confidently as an identity element, not as a translation of a Latin typeface.
- Language close to the audience without affectation.
- Understandable cultural references — seasons, regions and customs — with a contemporary feel.
- Design that starts from Arabic and adds English when needed, not the other way round.
How to build a brand with that personality is explained in our article on building a strong brand in the Saudi market.
Shift six: connected commerce and experience
The lines between content, store and conversation are fading. A customer sees a product in a video, asks about it on WhatsApp, pays in instalments, receives it the next day and reviews it on Google. Every point on that journey is part of the brand experience. Brands that design the whole journey, rather than each channel separately, are the ones that build loyalty. That requires technical connections between the store, messaging and sales systems, and consistent design across every touchpoint.
The skills growing in value
| Skill | Why its value is rising |
|---|---|
| Strategic thinking and good briefs | Tools execute, but someone has to decide what and why. |
| Visual instinct and creative judgment | As output multiplies, the right choice becomes rarer. |
| Mastery of design and writing in Arabic | Still a weak point in much content and many tools. |
| Understanding data and measurement | Creativity that doesn’t learn from numbers repeats its mistakes. |
| Short-form video production | The shared language of most platforms. |
| Using AI tools deliberately | To speed up work without sacrificing originality and accuracy. |
| Understanding local regulations | Data protection, advertising content and e-commerce. |
Notably, most of these skills sit where creativity meets marketing — the area where a creative director works in modern teams.
How can your brand prepare?
- Secure the foundation: a clear identity, a fast website and organised accounts. These shifts reward those with a solid base.
- Build first-party data: consented customer lists and accurate tracking in your store.
- Make video a habit: regular production capacity, not sporadic campaigns.
- Try new tools with discipline: on specific tasks, with human review and quality standards.
- Invest in expertise-led content: what your team knows that others don’t.
- Design the whole journey: from content to conversation to payment to after-sales.
The full plan for doing this is in our article on building a brand’s digital presence.
Frequently asked questions
Will AI replace designers and marketers?
It will change how they work and reduce the need for some repetitive tasks, but it increases the need for people who set direction, judge quality and understand the audience and context. Those who use the tools deliberately will be in a stronger position than those who ignore them or rely on them entirely.
Does SEO still matter with AI-generated answers in search?
Yes. Trustworthy content and well-structured websites are what these answers rely on, and commercial and branded searches still drive important traffic. But the kind of content worth investing in is shifting towards depth and real expertise.
What’s the most important marketing investment for Saudi brands right now?
It depends on the stage, but the shared foundation is a clear identity, regular content production capacity, accurate measurement, and consented customer data.
Conclusion
The shifts in design and digital marketing in Saudi Arabia are real and accelerating: AI speeds up production, search is changing, privacy is reshaping measurement, video and creators are growing in importance within a regulated framework, local identity is gaining value, and the journey between content, store and conversation is becoming connected. But amid all this, what has always mattered stays constant: a clear brand, a deep understanding of the audience, creativity that serves a goal, and honest measurement.
If you’re planning your brand’s next step, browse the services, or get in touch.
