Artificial Intelligence has revolutionised the pace of development across most industries worldwide. Reports by PwC and the IMF have emphasised that GCC countries are investing substantially in AI infrastructure, especially in the banking sector, and are rapidly adopting new technologies by upgrading their models to serve customers. Therefore, this research is conducted on a sample of banks that comprise the MSCI GCC bank index. The research data was collected from RIFINITIV and annual reports from 2018 to 2023. Content Analysis for AI was conducted, and a relationship was established between financial performance variables, which are ROA, ROE and NII and other controllable variables. The findings suggest that banks such as Al Rajhi, First Abu Dhabi Bank, and Alinma Bank are actively adopting and communicating their AI initiatives. Conversely, Qatar National Bank routinely exhibits low levels of AI-related disclosure, suggesting either restricted deployment or negligible focus on reporting technology methods. The GMM statistical technique led the researchers to conclude that AI plays a significant role in improving bank profitability (ROA) and market valuation (P/E ratio), particularly in the GCC banking sector. This study contributes to the literature by providing dynamic panel evidence from GCC banks, demonstrating how AI-related voluntary disclosures function as performance signals that significantly affect asset-based profitability and market valuation in an underexplored regional context. However, the current study suffers from limitations in the timeframe and the chosen sample banks. Future researchers may use this study with a longer time span, covering more commercial banks, and comparing across countries and continents.
