The United Arab Emirates has unveiled an ambitious plan to transition half of its government services to artificial intelligence within the next two years, marking one of the most significant public-sector transformations globally.
The initiative, announced by Vice President and Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, aims to embed autonomous “agentic AI” systems across roughly 50% of federal operations. These systems will be designed to independently execute routine tasks, analyse data, and support decision-making with minimal human intervention.
Describing the move as a “new government system,” Sheikh Mohammed said advanced AI models would act as an “executive partner” to government, capable of monitoring changes, issuing recommendations, and carrying out sequences of actions in real time. The shift is intended to streamline bureaucracy, reduce operational costs, and significantly accelerate service delivery.
Under the framework, ministers, directors-general, and federal entities will be evaluated based on how effectively and quickly they adopt AI tools, redesign workflows, and integrate intelligent systems into everyday operations. The transformation will also require all federal employees to undergo specialised AI training, signalling a major workforce reskilling effort alongside the technological overhaul.
Implementation of the initiative will be overseen by Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed Al Nahyan, with a dedicated task force led by Mohammad Al Gergawi managing execution and performance tracking across ministries.
The rollout will follow a phased approach, with continuous assessment of performance and impact before broader adoption. Officials say the strategy will prioritise proactive, data-driven service delivery, enabling systems to anticipate needs and act with greater precision.
The plan builds on more than two decades of digital government reforms in the UAE, including early e-government initiatives, mobile-first services, and integrated platforms such as the UAE Pass. It also aligns with national programmes like Government Services 2.0, which emphasise seamless, user-centric service design.
The latest push reinforces the UAE’s long-standing focus on artificial intelligence as a cornerstone of governance. The country became the first globally to appoint a Minister of State for AI in 2017 and has since advanced its UAE Artificial Intelligence Strategy 2031 under the broader UAE Centennial 2071 vision.
Alongside the AI transition, the UAE Cabinet approved a suite of policies to standardise and enhance government services. These include a unified code for service delivery, a national digital records framework, and a data-sharing policy based on the principle of collecting data once and using it securely across entities. Additional measures aim to align digital projects with national priorities, improve governance, and maximise resource efficiency.
Officials say the transformation is ultimately designed to improve quality of life by delivering faster, more efficient, and more responsive public services, while keeping people at the centre of government priorities.
With parallel ambitions such as Abu Dhabi’s goal of becoming a fully AI-native government by 2027, the UAE is positioning itself at the forefront of next-generation governance, where human oversight and machine intelligence operate in tandem at scale.