UAE to shift 50 percent of government services to AI within two years
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The UAE has announced a major national transformation plan to move half of its government services, sectors and operations to autonomous artificial intelligence within two years, in a bid to become the first country to fully adopt “agentic AI” in governance.
The initiative, directed by President Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan and unveiled by Vice President and Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, will see advanced AI systems take on tasks traditionally handled by humans from monitoring and analysis to decision support and process execution.
Sheikh Mohammed said these systems would act as an “executive partner” to government, improving efficiency, accelerating service delivery and enabling real-time evaluation and optimisation. Ministries and federal entities will be assessed based on how effectively they adopt AI tools and implement new standards.
The plan includes large-scale workforce development, with all federal employees set to undergo specialised AI training to ensure they can lead and manage the transformation.
Oversight of the initiative will be led by Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed Al Nahyan, while a dedicated task force headed by Mohammad Al Gergawi will monitor implementation. The rollout will follow a phased approach, with continuous performance assessment before broader expansion.
The shift builds on more than two decades of digital government evolution in the UAE, including early eGovernment programmes, mobile services and integrated platforms such as UAE Pass. It also aligns with long-term strategies like the UAE Artificial Intelligence Strategy 2031.
Alongside the AI push, the Cabinet approved a series of policies to strengthen service delivery, including unified government service standards, digital records management, and data-sharing frameworks aimed at improving efficiency, transparency and integration across entities.
Officials say the transformation will reduce operational costs, boost productivity and deliver faster, more proactive public services while keeping people at the centre of government priorities.
