A Hajj Talk session in Jeddah on November 8, 2026 examined how artificial intelligence and data analysis could improve pilgrim services. The discussion formed part of the Hajj Conference and Exhibition 2026 at Jeddah Superdome.

The session, “Artificial Intelligence and Digital Transformation in Serving Pilgrims,” brought together Dr. Sumaya Al-Baradei, engineer Mohammed Jaber Al-Marri and Dr. Nayef Ghazi Al-Shammari, with Dr. Mohammed bin Jibreel Al-Zailai moderating. The organizer's official agenda lists the session on the conference's opening day.

Turning service needs into practical digital tools

Speakers explored how research can support operational decisions and address difficulties pilgrims encounter when seeking help, including language barriers, limited awareness of available services, heat and crowded routes.

The report attributed to the Saudi Press Agency also described challenges for field teams: repeated questions, time pressure and requests spread across multiple service channels. Bringing unmet needs together was discussed as a way to identify improvement priorities.

Departure scheduling: simulations, not measured waiting times

The discussion included a computational model for scheduling pilgrim groups' departures around group sizes, available time slots, bus and train capacity, and operational constraints. Comparisons suggested that simplified scheduling rules could delay the worst-affected group relative to an optimized schedule in some scenarios.

These were hypothetical simulations of calculated departure times, not field measurements of pilgrims' waiting times or an announcement that the model had been deployed.

Power-system reliability

The session also addressed electricity-network readiness in the holy sites, distribution and fiber-optic capacity, and future demand. According to the report, the discussion noted that the public electricity network recorded no outages during the previous Hajj season despite high loads.

Sources: Saudi Press Agency, November 8, 2026; official Hajj Talk agenda.

Illustrative archive photograph of the Kaaba from 2016, not the session or the 2026 conference. Reused because no session photograph with verified publication rights was available. Photo: Moataz Tawfek Egbaria via Wikimedia Commons, licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0. Resized and potentially cropped for display; the adapted image remains under the same license.