UAE targets 50% of government services on agentic AI within two years

Summary

• Cabinet framework approved in May 2026 aims to convert half of government services to agentic AI
• Abu Dhabi's TAMM already processes 95% of requests using AI across 1,150-plus services
• Shift moves services from answering enquiries to executing renewals without customers filing requests

The latest

Half of the UAE's government sectors, services and operations are to be rebuilt around agentic artificial intelligence within two years, under a federal framework approved by the Cabinet in May 2026, state news agency WAM reported. The national programme includes training 80,000 federal employees on agentic AI tools and rolling out specialised assistants for procurement, tax auditing, customer happiness and technical support.

Details

• The model: AI applications in government services are moving from supplying information and answering enquiries to performing tasks autonomously and coordinating procedures, WAM reported. The stated aim is to cut the number of steps required of customers, with some recurring services completed without the customer initiating a request each time.
• Abu Dhabi's numbers: The TAMM platform serves 3.8 million users through more than 1,150 government and private-sector services, processes 95% of requests using AI, and has completed over 1.9 million service cases through conversational AI, according to WAM. Its AutoGov feature automatically renews certain licences and medical appointments before expiry.
• New Abu Dhabi tools: The Department of Government Enablement launched GovGPT in October, a bilingual generative AI knowledge agent for government employees. In September, the Abu Dhabi Executive Council used an AI-powered meeting platform for the first time to analyse proposals and documents and produce executive and real-time summaries.
• Ajman's first case: Ajman announced in July the completion of what WAM described as the UAE's first government transaction renewing a trade licence using agentic AI, with customers notified before expiry and directed to an assistant in the Ajman One app. The Ajman Free Zones Authority also launched OneClick at AI Everything Abu Dhabi 2026, taking investors from business concept to licence issuance in one conversation.
• Dubai utilities: DEWA said it converted 16 of its 21 services into AI-enhanced autonomous services in under 90 days, or 76% of its total, with the remaining five due within two months of the announcement. These cover electricity and water activation, two technical-report services and 13 backed by the payment reconciliation framework.
• Transport: Dubai's Roads and Transport Authority rebuilt its virtual assistant, Mahboub, on agentic AI to chain interconnected services in one conversation, such as settling vehicle fines before renewing registration. The initial phase covers registration renewal, fine payments, clearance certificates and plate reservation renewals, using UAE PASS and DubaiPay.
• Governance layer: The government launched an Agentic AI Application Lab for Government Services on 22 October 2026 to help ministries identify priority services and develop, test and approve solutions with customers. In August, the National Committee for Agentic AI issued a unified design guide requiring customer consent before any action is taken.
• Weather services: The National Centre of Meteorology announced in June the launch of the country's first agentic AI assistants in the meteorology sector and approved a roadmap for expanding their use, WAM reported.
• Status of rollout: Some services are already completing transactions while others remain under development or are being prepared for public launch, according to WAM, which did not give a completion timetable for those still in the pipeline. Approvals, data protection, exception handling and human oversight are described as essential elements.

Between the lines

The design guide's requirement that systems obtain customer consent before acting, and the lab's role in assessing readiness before launch, point to the central tension in autonomous services: a system that renews a licence unprompted removes a step and a decision point at the same time. The staggered status of deployments suggests sequencing by risk rather than by volume.

What's next

Watch DEWA's remaining five services, due within two months of its announcement; the pace of the federal 50% target set for 2028; and which ministries the Agentic AI Application Lab selects as priority services.

Source: WAM (Emirates News Agency)