ADX opens live market data to conversational AI

Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange has opened official live market data to conversational artificial intelligence platforms, allowing investors and institutions to interrogate exchange information through tools including ChatGPT and Claude using ordinary language.

The initiative makes ADX the first exchange in the Middle East and North Africa to provide such access through a governed Model Context Protocol, or MCP, server. The system connects compatible AI assistants and applications directly with authorised exchange datasets rather than relying on information already embedded in language models or gathered from third-party websites.

Users can retrieve live prices, trading activity, issuer disclosures, corporate actions and historical information by submitting natural-language questions. The service also supports structured data including XBRL financial disclosures, enabling AI applications to process company financial information in machine-readable form.

The change potentially alters how retail investors, analysts, developers and financial institutions consume market information. Conventional access to sophisticated exchange data has typically depended on market-data terminals, dedicated websites, APIs or specialist applications. MCP creates a standardised connection through which AI systems can request information and return it in a conversational format.

ADX has structured the service around four self-service subscription tiers. The Starter package is free and allows 100 tool calls a month, covering current or last-trading-day history and real-time Level 1 information for all instruments. Paid packages cost AED9.99, AED29.99 and AED49.99 a month, offering progressively larger usage allowances and deeper historical coverage.

The Premium package permits 4,000 tool calls monthly and provides access to the full available historical depth. Enterprise customers can obtain separately configured access based on expected volumes, integration requirements and approved datasets.

Information available through the system can include per-security prices, market depth, bid-ask spreads and price-discovery indicators. Trading statistics covering retail and institutional participation and foreign and local investor activity can also be incorporated, depending on the user’s package and data entitlements.

The architecture gives ADX greater control over how its information reaches generative AI systems. Access is authenticated through API keys or enterprise-approved methods, while permissions can be restricted according to users, packages and datasets. Data delivered through individual services may be real-time, delayed or batch-based depending on licensing arrangements and availability.

That distinction is significant as generative AI becomes more widely used for financial research. General-purpose language models can produce plausible responses based on outdated training information or incomplete online material. Connecting them to an exchange-controlled data source allows answers to be grounded in licensed market information requested at the time of the query.

The system could therefore support questions ranging from checking the latest price and turnover of an ADX-listed security to comparing historical sector performance or reviewing corporate announcements. Developers can also use the infrastructure to build financial applications, research assistants and automated market-data workflows.

The launch follows a broader push by ADX to integrate artificial intelligence into its market infrastructure. The exchange introduced a series of AI-based services in 2025 aimed at simplifying investment processes and providing faster market insights, while expanding digital tools for investors and other stakeholders.

The latest move comes as ADX seeks to deepen participation after a period of substantial expansion. Market capitalisation exceeded AED3.13 trillion in 2025, placing the exchange among the world’s 20 largest by market value. Total trading value topped AED385 billion during the year, an increase of 12.6%, while average daily trading value rose 12.1% to AED1.52 billion.

Foreign-investor trading value increased by 13.8% during 2025 and institutional investors accounted for about 78% of total trading value. The exchange also serves more than 1.2 million investors representing over 200 nationalities, giving digital distribution of financial information a potentially broad audience.

ADX has simultaneously expanded links with overseas markets through Tabadul, its digital exchange network. Cross-market activity accelerated during the first half of 2026 as the number of securities traded through the network increased and participation broadened across connected exchanges.

Opening official data to AI applications adds another layer to that expansion by treating conversational interfaces as a distribution channel for exchange information. Investors who previously had to move between company filings, market screens and analytical platforms can potentially ask a connected assistant to retrieve and organise those datasets within a single interaction.

The model nevertheless leaves investment judgement with the user. Access to live exchange information does not eliminate market risk, and AI-generated interpretation can still depend on the quality of prompts, analytical methodology and the capabilities of the application using the underlying data.