TP’s Augusto Martinez Reyes on how AI is remaking Gulf customer operations
The COO EMEA and president of Multilingual Hubs at TP Group shares where AI is already delivering tangible returns, how the Gulf compares with more mature markets, the skills organisations will need next, and what the future of customer experience could look like
24 September, 2026
TT
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As AI moves from experimentation to real deployment, TP’s COO for EMEA tells Gulf Business where the technology is already paying off, how the Gulf compares with more mature markets, and why redesigning a process matters more than automating it.
As AI moves rapidly from experimentation to real-world deployment, businesses across the Gulf are weighing what the technology will mean for productivity, jobs and customer experience.
During his recent visit to the UAE, Gulf Business sat down with Augusto Martinez Reyes, COO EMEA and president of Multilingual Hubs at TP Group, who has a close view of how AI is reshaping customer operations across the region. The conversation covered where AI is already delivering tangible returns, how the Gulf compares with more mature markets, the skills organisations will need next, and what the future of customer experience could look like.
The Gulf has invested heavily in AI over the past few years. From what you are seeing on the ground, are businesses in the region now moving faster from experimentation to real-world deployment?
The pace is clearly accelerating, particularly in the UAE. A few years ago, much of the focus was on defining ambitions, building the ecosystem and understanding what AI could potentially enable. In 2026, we are seeing more of that vision translate into practical services and operating models.
A major advantage for the region is its clear long-term direction and the alignment across government, business, and the technology ecosystem. That makes it easier to move from intent to implementation. The public sector has been particularly important in setting the pace, and the private sector is now moving quickly as well. AI is increasingly part of service delivery rather than confined to isolated pilots.
How does the pace of enterprise AI adoption in the UAE and wider Gulf compare with what you are seeing across Europe and other mature markets?
The Gulf is moving very quickly and, in my view, is among the strongest markets globally in terms of pace and ambition. That said, direct comparisons with Europe need to be made carefully, because the size and structure of the markets are very different.
One advantage the UAE has is that it is relatively concentrated and has strong coordination around a common direction. That can shorten the distance between an idea, a decision and actual implementation. It also means that when something works, the impact can become visible relatively quickly. Concentration also requires strong governance and disciplined execution to ensure the right decisions are being made.
Where is AI already delivering a clear business return, whether through productivity, cost savings or better customer experience, and where do you think expectations are still ahead of reality?
The clearest returns come when AI is used to redesign a process rather than simply automate an existing one. Productivity, cost efficiency and customer experience are closely connected.
A good example is recruitment. We have conducted more than 30,000 AI-enabled interviews year to date, using AI across areas such as assessment, documentation and workflow automation while keeping people involved where human interaction matters. This has helped reduce the hiring journey from around 15 days to three days and improve productivity by approximately 40 per cent.
Expectations get ahead of reality when companies treat AI as if it were simply a more advanced form of RPA. If the underlying process remains unchanged, the technology alone will not deliver the expected value.
There is a lot of debate around AI and jobs. From your perspective, how is AI actually changing roles and skills within large organisations rather than simply replacing people?
AI is changing the composition of work and creating roles that either did not exist a few years ago or were required at a much smaller scale. We are seeing growing demand for AI engineers, forward deployment engineers, AI quality specialists and people who can connect technology with operations.
Existing roles are evolving too. Product owners and operational leaders increasingly need to understand how AI changes the way products and services are designed, deployed and improved. There is already a shortage of some of these capabilities, particularly in areas such as forward deployment engineering.
That makes learning and development a strategic issue. At TP, we believe our employees are central to what we do, and it is our responsibility to build new pathways and reskill them so they keep learning.
Could some of the AI operating models being developed in the Gulf eventually be adopted by businesses elsewhere in Europe, the Middle East and Africa? What could other markets learn from the region?
Yes. The UAE is developing approaches that can provide useful lessons for other markets, particularly around the integration of services and the willingness to rethink how people interact with them.
We can already see this across areas such as healthcare, taxation, parking and other public services, where previously separate interactions are becoming more connected.
The important point is that these models cannot simply be copied from one market to another. Regulation, culture, customer behaviour and institutional structures differ significantly. What is transferable is the underlying approach: having a clear vision, aligning execution around it and being willing to redesign services rather than simply digitise existing processes. That is where TP excels, and where the UAE has experience that can be relevant well beyond the Gulf.
Customer experience is one of the industries most exposed to AI and automation. How do you expect the traditional contact-centre model to evolve over the next few years?
AI is accelerating a change that was already happening in customer experience. IVR, digital channels, chat and automation have all changed how customers interact with companies, but AI is different because it depends heavily on context.
Routine and repetitive activities will increasingly be automated or supported by AI, while people will focus more on complex issues, negotiation and the moments where empathy and judgement matter.
The challenge will be how effectively companies connect AI, customer data, operational systems and human expertise. At the same time, risk becomes more important. Identity management, data protection, fraud prevention and clear boundaries around what AI is allowed to do will need to become an integral part of customer operations.
When companies attempt large-scale AI transformation, what tends to be the biggest challenge: the technology itself, or changing the organisation, processes and leadership around it?
The technology is only one part of the challenge. The harder work usually sits around data, process design and understanding where AI genuinely adds value.
Large organisations often have fragmented systems and customer data, particularly after years of acquisitions and integration. They also need to understand which problems require a deterministic solution and where a non-deterministic AI model is appropriate.
The third challenge is complexity. Companies often begin by automating the easiest part of a process, but that can create friction if it does not connect properly with everything that follows. Scaling AI therefore requires more than choosing the right technology. It requires domain expertise, strong data foundations, a clear view of the right use cases, and leadership willing to address the organisational complexity around them. Combining those is fundamentally our expertise.
