This study explores the potential of artificial intelligence (AI) in enhancing the diagnosis of brain tumours, specifically through a comparative analysis of two advanced deep learning (DL) models, ResNet50 and YOLOv8, applied to detect and classify brain tumours in MRI images. The study addresses the critical need for rapid and accurate diagnostic tools in the medical field, given the complexity and diversity of brain tumours. The research was motivated by the potential benefits AI could offer to medical diagnostics, particularly in terms of speed and accuracy, which are crucial for effective patient treatment and outcomes. The performance of the ResNet50 and YOLOv8 models was evaluated on a dataset of 7023 MRI images across four tumour types. Key metrics used were accuracy, precision, recall, specificity, F1-score, and processing time, to identify which model performs better in detecting and classifying brain tumours. The findings demonstrates that although both models exhibit high performance, YOLOv8 surpasses ResNet50 in most metrics, particularly showing advantages in speed. The findings highlight the effectiveness advanced DL models in medical image analysis, providing a significant advancement in brain tumour diagnosis. By offering a thorough comparative analysis of two commonly used DL models, aligning with ongoing approaches to integrate AI into practical medical application, and highlighting their potential uses, this study advances the area of medical AI providing insight into the knowledge required for the deployment of future AI diagnostic tools.