du is redefining its role in the digital landscape, with executives CCO, Karim Benkirane, and CTO, Saleem Alblooshi, outlining the company’s comprehensive AI-driven transformation at the 18th edition of the Telecom Review Leaders’ Summit.
Unleashing AI in Base Marketing: du's Vision for Smarter Telecoms
The rapid evolution of artificial intelligence (AI) is transforming industries, and the UAE is determined to lead this charge. During the first day of the conference, Benkirane shared insights into how AI is reshaping the telecom sector.
“We are witnessing an AI evolution at an unprecedented pace,” he noted. “In the UAE, there’s a strong commitment to staying at the forefront of this transformation.” Telcos, he emphasized, occupy a unique position in the AI value chain, granting them not only the capability but also the obligation to innovate.
du has embraced the AI journey with over 50 live use cases spanning infrastructure, HR, commercial operations, customer engagement, security, finance, IT, procurement, and regulatory functions. However, Benkirane cautioned, “Any innovation needs time to be adopted and comes with high risks. Narrowing focus is critical.”
Hence, du chose to focus on base marketing, addressing the "telco data wealth paradox"—an abundance of customer data that is challenging to fully utilize. By deploying AI, du unlocked this potential, demonstrating a new level of personalized engagement.
The results are compelling. “AI-driven base marketing turbocharged our data utilization,” said Benkirane. “We’ve achieved a 45% increase in customer engagement, reduced churn by 20%, and boosted customer value management (CVM) revenues by 16%.”
Benkirane further highlighted the importance of a clear, value-based approach to AI, noting that, “We [du] prioritized potential use cases based on business goals and executed with precision. This focus has delivered tangible benefits.”
As AI continues to evolve, du is leading by example, showcasing how strategic implementation can turn data into actionable insights, driving growth and enhancing customer experience. “The possibilities with AI are vast,” Benkirane concluded. “The key is to harness them intelligently to deliver real value.”
du’s Take on Embracing AI and Autonomous Networks
During the second day of the conference, Alblooshi shared the company’s transformative vision: “Our journey is about moving beyond core telecom capabilities to become a leading digital service provider. From du Pay to du Infra, we are creating a comprehensive ecosystem to serve diverse customer needs.”
AI is at the heart of this evolution, driving both infrastructure growth and operational innovation. According to Alblooshi, “The next wave of traffic growth will be powered by AI. We’re forecasting a six-fold increase in traffic, with 33% of it being AI-driven. Our role is twofold: expand the network to accommodate this surge and adopt AI to make the network itself smarter.”
To achieve this, du launched its AI journey in 2024, with a taskforce and a clear framework focused on transformation. The flagship initiative, Nawras, is a generative AI (GenAI) virtual assistant built on-premises and tailored for regulatory and wholesale knowledge. “It’s like having our own ChatGPT, designed specifically for our needs,” said Alblooshi.
Moreover, du’s innovations extend to sustainability, with an AI-powered energy-saving initiative reducing 5G energy consumption through 11 closed-loop algorithms. “This is a tangible example of how AI not only drives performance but also contributes to a greener future,” Alblooshi highlighted.
Looking ahead, du’s roadmap includes achieving fully autonomous networks. “Currently, we’re progressing between Levels 2 and 3 of autonomy,” said Alblooshi. “Our goal is to uplift competencies and build the capabilities needed for an entirely autonomous network.”
With a commitment to global excellence, Alblooshi concluded, “AI is not just an enabler for us; it’s the foundation for reimagining our role as a telecom and digital services leader in the AI era.”
