Can ChatGPT Value Your Business? What AI Gets Right and Dangerously Wrong
By Bill Anderson, FCCA, Chief Executive Officer, Assetica — 2026-06-08
What AI chatbots get right and wrong when valuing a business, and why no AI-generated number survives contact with a buyer, bank or court.
What AI gets right
AI chatbots explain valuation concepts well: EBITDA, DCF, why recurring revenue earns a premium. They can list required documents, describe the process and do the arithmetic once given an earnings figure and a multiple. As an educational and preparation tool, they are genuinely useful.
Where AI fails
Three places. It believes whatever you type: no verification or normalisation of earnings, which routinely moves owner-managed SME figures substantially. It applies generic, mostly US, rule-of-thumb multiples with no UAE context: licence transferability, visa structures, the GCC buyer pool, corporate tax effects. And its output has no standing: banks, courts, the FTA and the GDRFA all require a report from a qualified independent valuer to recognised standards.
The real danger is anchoring
AI answers arrive fluent and specific, and specific numbers anchor. An owner anchored to an optimistic AI figure rejects reasonable offers; one anchored low undersells. Either error costs more than any valuation fee. Use AI to learn concepts and prepare questions; use an independent valuation when the number has consequences.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can ChatGPT or AI value my business?
It can explain methodology and produce rough arithmetic, but it cannot verify or normalise your earnings, weigh UAE-specific factors, or produce a report any authority accepts. AI-generated numbers have no standing with buyers, banks, courts, the FTA or the GDRFA.
Is an AI valuation accepted for a UAE Golden Visa?
No. The GDRFA and ICP require a certified valuation from an accredited independent firm applying recognised methodologies, with a signed certificate. An AI transcript does not meet any of those requirements.
What is AI actually useful for in business valuation?
Education and preparation: understanding EBITDA, DCF and multiples, preparing document lists and questions for a valuer, and rough annual self-tracking where you control the honesty of the inputs.
Speak to Assetica about Business Valuation
Assetica is an independent business valuation firm in Dubai. We do not audit and we do not broker deals, so the number carries no conflict. Read more about business valuation, or book a free scoping call. Standard reports are issued in five to seven business days.