Rahat Khan

5 Ways Project Managers Can Lead in Saudi Arabia’s Year of AI Artificial Intelligence (AI) is no longer a side experiment. In 2026, the Saudi Cabinet declared the Kingdom’s Year of Artificial Intelligence, placing AI at the heart of Vision 2030, Saudi Arabia’s national transformation program. For project managers (PMs), that shift raises an urgent question: as AI changes how work gets delivered, will you lead the change or simply react to it? The pressure is real, and the numbers show why. According to Gartner, by 2030 around 80% of routine project management tasks, such as data collection, tracking, and reporting, will be handled by AI. But automation is not the same as replacement. In a 2025 Gartner survey of more than 700 chief information officers (CIOs), leaders expected that by 2030, 75% of technology work will be done by people working alongside AI, and only 25% by AI on its own. The message for PMs is clear. AI will take on more of the busywork, but leading the outcome stays firmly human. Here are five practical ways to step into that role. 1. Start with the data, not the tool The most useful mindset shift is simple: AI projects are not software projects, they are data projects. The Project Management Institute (PMI) has made this point for years, and teams learn it the hard way when a promising model fails because the data feeding it was messy or incomplete. Before choosing a tool, get clear on what data you have, what shape it is in, and whether it can actually support the outcome you want. 2. Close the gap between the demo and the deployment Most AI initiatives don’t fail because the model was weak. They stall in the gap between an impressive demo and a working deployment, where scope drifts, data isn’t ready, and stakeholders never quite align. That gap is exactly where good project managers earn their keep, by turning a promising prototype into something that ships and holds up in the real world. 3. Scope every initiative around a measurable outcome AI is easy to get excited about and easy to waste money on. The fix is discipline: tie every initiative to a clear, measurable business outcome before the build begins. This is where a strong Project Management Office (PMO), the team that sets delivery standards across an organization, adds real value, by keeping projects honest about the results they promised. 4. Double down on the skills AI can’t replace Here is what surprises people: the difference between a PM getting a little value from AI and one getting enormous value is rarely the tool. It’s communication, critical thinking, collaboration, and creativity. As routine tasks get automated, these human skills become the real differentiator, because AI rewards the leaders who ask sharper questions and frame better problems. 5. Stay accountable for what ships When AI drafts the plan or flags the risk, someone still has to own the decision. Keeping a human clearly accountable isn’t a brake on speed, it’s what lets you ship with confidence and keep the trust of clients and stakeholders. The best PMs treat accountability as part of good delivery, not paperwork added at the end. The bottom line The Year of AI won’t be won by the teams that adopt the most tools. It will be won by the people who can turn AI into real, delivered results, on time and on outcome. This is exactly where SOLGulf’s Agentic AI Delivery & Operations practice helps: we move organizations from AI readiness to production, bringing the delivery discipline that makes results stick. If you’re ready to turn AI ambition into working outcomes, reach out to the SOLGulf team, and we’ll show you what it looks like in practice. About the Author Syed Tufail Ahmed,AI & Digital Program Manager, SOLGulf Syed Tufail Ahmed is an AI governance strategist and program leader with around 25 years of enterprise experience across digital banking, healthcare analytics, and technology. At SOLGulf, he serves as AI & Digital Program Manager and heads the Project Management Centre of Excellence (PMCoE) for a Saudi government client, leading the delivery of AI and digital transformation initiatives. He is the author of Human in the Loop: Reclaiming Human Authority in an Age of Intelligent Systems (2026) and a Global Ambassador for the Global Council for Responsible AI (GCRAI). His work centers on helping organizations adopt AI in ways that scale human judgment rather than replace it. He has been recognized by Thinkers360 among the top global voices in AI governance, ethics, and safety, and holds a Certified Expert credential in AI Governance. Syed writes and speaks regularly on responsible AI, project delivery, and the evolving role of the project manager. He holds a Bachelor of Engineering in Instrumentation and Electronics and is based in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. Connect with him on LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/tufailsa