Saudi Arabia’s vast digital base is positioning messaging apps to move beyond communication and become full-service channels. Internet penetration in the kingdom has reached 99%, while nine in 10 Saudi adults use WhatsApp daily, according to data cited in a report prepared by BCG. That daily use is not limited to personal chats. It gives companies and government agencies a ready platform to deliver services inside a single window, from search and inquiry to placing requests, resolving problems and following up. In an exclusive interview with Asharq Al-Awsat, Fares Akkad, Meta’s regional director for the Middle East and Africa, said messaging is becoming central to Saudi Arabia’s next phase of digital transformation. “It is evolving from a communication tool into a space where the full journey happens, from finding and using a service to resolving a problem, all within one conversation,” he said. Plans show scale of shift The BCG report says 84% of institutions in Saudi Arabia plan to invest in rich messaging technologies over the next five years, putting them ahead of traditional channels such as SMS and email. Rich messaging moves services beyond one-way alerts. Users can ask a question, receive an answer, request a service, complete a procedure and return to the same conversation when needed, without losing the context of the exchange. Akkad said the shift reflects a clear change in user expectations. People now expect interaction that is immediate, personal and continuous, rather than moving between call centers, websites and separate apps. “Legacy systems that rely on one-way messages, call centers with long waiting times and separate channels where context is lost at every transition create friction felt by both sides,” he said. The trend is not limited to Saudi Arabia. Globally, 72% of internet-connected adults prefer messaging as a primary way to communicate with companies, while 79% contact a company through messages at least once a week. More than alerts The core change is the move from using messaging to send notifications to using it as a main service channel. An organization no longer simply sends a confirmation or update. It lets the user complete the action inside the same conversation. Akkad said the change goes deeper than communication habits because it affects how services are designed and how people reach them. “This reflects a structural change in how services are delivered and how interaction is designed across companies, ministries and national platforms,” he said. In government services, messaging can reduce the need to learn new portals or navigate multiple systems, especially when services are delivered through an app citizens already use and understand. Akkad said familiar channels “reduce the learning curve and lower barriers to access,” especially for users who may struggle with new portals or systems. AI handles scale and context Messaging provides the channel. Artificial intelligence makes it scalable. AI allows large volumes of conversations to be managed around the clock, while helping systems understand the intent behind a question, provide an answer or escalate the case when needed. The data shows that 80% of decision-makers believe AI agents will change how customers are engaged. In practice, those agents can understand user intent, answer frequent questions instantly, provide information in Arabic and English, and refer more complex cases to human employees. Akkad told Asharq Al-Awsat: “AI manages scale, from routine inquiries and multilingual responses to round-the-clock availability, while human employees remain at the center of cases that require judgment, sensitivity or personal interaction.” That view aligns with a Digital Government Authority study that described “AI agents as partners to government.” Conversational agents can act as frontline digital employees, answering basic questions immediately and referring cases that need specialist intervention. But the human role remains essential, Akkad said. Human expertise is still needed in complex situations, in decisions that require judgment and in interactions that cannot be reduced to an automated answer. More than one billion conversations a day Global figures show how quickly commercial interaction is moving into messaging apps. Akkad said more than one million companies currently use Meta Business Agent to respond to customers around the clock. He said “more than one billion active conversations take place daily between businesses and customers across WhatsApp, Messenger and Instagram,” a sign of growing reliance on these platforms as direct channels for interaction and service delivery. Akkad said the trend is no longer just about directing a question to the right employee. It is about delivering a more personalized experience from the first moment. “The vision is for every company to be able to show up for every customer as if it had an unlimited team behind it,” he said. That scale is changing how institutions view messaging apps. Instead of treating them as an extra channel alongside phone and email, they are becoming part of the operating infrastructure that receives requests, processes them and measures results. Saudi Post’s SPL as an example Saudi Post’s SPL shows what messaging can achieve when used at scale. As e-commerce grew and pressure on traditional channels increased, the organization moved to a model led by message-based interaction. Today, 90% of customer inquiries are resolved inside the messaging channel. Call center waiting times have fallen by 50%, and operating costs have dropped by 75%. Akkad said the gains did not come from adding a new channel to an old system. They came from redesigning the entire customer journey. “The SPL experience shows what can be achieved at national scale, not inside a limited pilot project, but in live, high-usage operations serving the Saudi public,” he told Asharq Al-Awsat. The figures also show that lower costs and better service do not have to move in opposite directions. In this case, operational pressure fell while answers became faster, information more accurate and the experience simpler for users. Value lies in outcomes The success of messaging cannot be measured only by the number of conversations or the speed of the first response. Institutions need to connect the channel to clear operational and business outcomes. Akkad proposed measuring performance across three levels. The first is user experience, including response speed, accuracy of resolution and satisfaction levels. The second is operational performance, such as lower costs and the share of inquiries fully resolved inside the channel. The third is commercial or institutional performance. BCG data shows that institutions using multiple messaging use cases generate 2.1 times higher customer lifetime value and 1.5 times better customer acquisition efficiency. Akkad said “the most important measurement is the one that links messaging directly to outcomes rather than activity.” That means asking whether the channel reduces calls, shortens the steps needed to complete a service, improves customer retention and lowers the cost of each transaction or inquiry. Five capabilities for successful scaling The BCG report identified five capabilities institutions need to move from limited use cases to integrated service delivery through messaging. The first is treating messaging as a core service channel and choosing use cases that deliver direct value. The second is data and technology readiness. An AI agent cannot give accurate answers if information is outdated or scattered across systems that do not connect. The third is an operating model that allows technology, customer service, marketing and operations teams to work together. The fourth is partnerships between technology providers, platforms and service operators. The fifth is a clear measurement framework that links messaging performance to satisfaction, efficiency and growth. Akkad said these capabilities “will determine which public and private institutions lead the next phase of digital transformation.” The risk of unready data AI-backed messaging projects can fail when they are treated as a more advanced version of SMS. Akkad said using the channel for one-way alerts is not a full strategy. The main value lies in continuous two-way dialogue and in keeping the user in one context from the start of the journey to the end. The second risk is deploying AI tools before preparing the data they rely on. If the system cannot access accurate and updated information, it will give weak or incorrect answers, damaging trust. “If the system cannot show accurate and updated information, the experience is damaged, and this affects trust in ways that are difficult to recover from,” he said. The third mistake is underestimating partnerships. Delivering conversational service at scale requires coordination between the platform, solution providers and the service provider, as well as the teams managing data, operations and experience. The Saudi market is moving from having the channel available to redesigning services around it. The success of that shift will depend on how well institutions connect conversations to data, operations and measurement, rather than simply adding another window for communication.
