From Automation to Agency: Case Studies and Lessons Learned from elm Deploying (Gen)AI in Saudi Arabia (Guest blog from Elm)
This blog was written by Raed Marouf , Director, Elm Europe
At elm, we see AI not just as a technology, but as a tool for meaningful change. As Saudi Arabia accelerates its digital transformation, elm is helping shape that journey by building AI systems that are already making a difference in how people access government services, navigate legal processes, and engage with insurers.
As the UK continues to deploy AI and generative AI across public and private sectors, elm’s real-world deployments offer practical insights into what’s possible when these technologies are localized, secure, and designed with people in mind. From improving service delivery to enhancing decision-making, these examples show how AI can be both strategic and inclusive.
In this article I will take you through three examples of how generative and agentic AI is being deployed in practice in Saudi Arabia today - and some of the lessons we've learned along the way.
1. Nuha – Arabic-First Agentic AI for Government Services
At elm we built a multi-modal Arabic-first LLM which is used to transforms how people deal with governmental services throughout Saudi Arabia. Nuha operates beyond a digital assistant role by being a culturally mindful linguistic system which understands Arabic dialects. In addition, Nuha is equipped with advanced speech and text functionality.
Nuha operates in several languages yet delivers superior performance in Arabic which makes it ideal for the region. The technical breakthrough represents a strategic move to dominate the expanding digital market of the region. During 2024 government entities in Saudi spent over GBP7 billion in ICT which accounted for 34% of total market spending on ICT. Moreover, the spend on artificial intelligence and emerging technologies is one of the highest growth categories in this market. This is an unmistakable signal of the Saudi ambition to become a leader in building and deploying advanced technologies within the public sector.
Nuha is being deployed in a major government platform with millions of monthly users. Nuha does more than just answer questions; it performs tasks and totally changes the way individuals and businesses interact with public services in this emerging era of agentic AI.
And most importantly, it is fully deployed within Saudi providing full data privacy, full data security, and full data and AI sovereignty.
2. Judicial AI Assistant – Generative AI for Legal Systems
Our next innovation is a fully AI assistant built exclusively for legal sector. The assistant has been purposefully built to support judges, lawyers, and legal researchers versus specific legal tasks, where generative and agentic AI will impact efficiency and choice.
We have already delivered the AI assistant into a public sector department in Saudi Arabia, and we are working in the private sector with law firms and corporate legal teams, fulfilling demand. The timing of this innovation is critical: the global legal tech market was worth around USD 31.6 billion in 2024, and this industry is forecasted to double by 2032. Legal technology adoption is anticipated to ramp-up considerably, particularly in the Middle East, with Saudi Arabia first out of the gate.
The assistant can perform a broad range of legal activities based on different legal roles. The assistant enabled semantic search to retrieve precedents and legal information quickly and accurately, based on their context and criteria, generate standardized legal Q&A, linked to official laws and regulation, summarize cases in line with standards set by judges, and convert extracted legal information to structured line items to underpin automated case management.
The system serves as a reliable source for legal practitioners, helping unify legal interpretations and increase consistency in rulings. It isn’t just about saving time, but it is also about increasing the quality of legal analysis and allowing legal experts to pursue the substance of the case, instead of administrative work.
3. Insurance Risk Assessment AI – Driving Profitability and Fairness
In addition to public services and legal systems, AI is changing the way insurers evaluate risk and provide customer service. Our machine learning system assesses the chances of insurance applicants being involved in traffic accidents.
Particularly valuable aspect of this solution is that it can predict not only general accident risk, but the probability of accidents within specifically a 12-month timeframe, while ensuring balance in the predictions so we do not unfairly penalize low-risk applicants; particularly important when assessing risk in a fair manner.
This predictive power provides insurers the opportunity to:
- Price insurance policies to an individual level
- Reduce claims by identifying high-risk customers up-front
- Increase profitability through better management of their portfolio
- Speed up underwriting decisions and operating efficiencies
- Create differentiated customer experience for low-risk individuals with preferential pricing and faster response, and turnaround, times.
Key Lessons Learned
- From automation to agency: These systems don’t just assist, they act. In government services, this shifts the experience from manual processes to conversational, goal-oriented interactions.
- Localization matters: Our Arabic first AI shows the power of building systems that understand local language, culture, and context.
- AI sovereignty is non-negotiable: Local deployment and strong guardrails ensure security and compliance.
- AI frees up professionals: In the legal sector, judges and lawyers can focus on analysis and strategy. In insurance, AI enables fairer, more personalized service.
- One size does not fit all: each use-case requires are specific approach, from machine learning models to custom-trained LLMs using proprietary and domain specific data.
About elm Europe
elm Europe is the UK-based subsidiary of elm, the largest publicly listed Saudi Software and Services company that has pioneered digital transformation across public and private sectors. elm Europe acts as a bridge between the UK and Saudi, enabling collaboration, knowledge exchange, and delivering scalable solutions across both Kingdoms.
Combining global expertise with elm’s local know-how and assets, elm Europe focuses on research across generative AI technologies and autonomous systems, fosters partnerships with key players in the innovation ecosystem, and works toward commercializing the group’s IPs in the UK and European markets.
References:
- Saudi Arabia Digital Government Authority report on government spending on communications and information technology services for the year 2024
- Legal Technology Market Size by Fortune Business Insights, 2025–2032
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In 2025, Sue was honoured with an Order of the British Empire (OBE) for services to the Technology Industry in the New Year Honours List.
She has been recognised as one of the most influential people in UK tech by Computer Weekly's UKtech50 Longlist and in 2021 was inducted into the Computer Weekly Most Influential Women in UK Tech Hall of Fame.
A key influencer in driving forward the data agenda in the UK, Sue was co-chair of the UK government's National Data Strategy Forum until July 2024. As well as being recognised in the UK's Big Data 100 and the Global Top 100 Data Visionaries for 2020 Sue has also been shortlisted for the Milton Keynes Women Leaders Awards and was a judge for the Loebner Prize in AI. In addition to being a regular industry speaker on issues including AI ethics, data protection and cyber security, Sue was recently a judge for the UK Tech 50 and is a regular judge of the annual UK Cloud Awards.
Prior to joining techUK in January 2015 Sue was responsible for Symantec's Government Relations in the UK and Ireland. She has spoken at events including the UK-China Internet Forum in Beijing, UN IGF and European RSA on issues ranging from data usage and privacy, cloud computing and online child safety. Before joining Symantec, Sue was senior policy advisor at the Confederation of British Industry (CBI). Sue has an BA degree on History and American Studies from Leeds University and a Masters Degree on International Relations and Diplomacy from the University of Birmingham. Sue is a keen sportswoman and in 2016 achieved a lifelong ambition to swim the English Channel.
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