UAE Announces Two Year Agentic AI Plan for Federal Government

The announced scope of the framework

The framework was announced on 23 April 2026 following a UAE Cabinet meeting chaired by His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum. It aims to transform 50 percent of UAE Government sectors and services through agentic AI within two years. The official announcement also describes government operations as part of the intended scope.

The government presents agentic AI as technology capable of monitoring changes, producing analysis, offering recommendations, managing operations, and completing a sequence of actions without human intervention. Under the framework, these systems are intended to support decisions, enhance services, improve operational efficiency, assess results, and introduce improvements in real time.

These capabilities describe the intended role of agentic AI in future government operations. The announcement does not identify services that are already generally available under the framework. It also does not provide a list of completed deployments, early access programmes, previews, or pilots. The 50 percent figure is therefore an announced objective rather than a report of current adoption.

Implementation will proceed in phases

The project is planned as a phased implementation across ministries and federal entities. According to the official announcement, performance and impact will be assessed continuously, with wider rollout expected to follow that assessment. The sources do not identify which ministries, sectors, or services will enter the first phase.

The framework calls for government policies, processes, and procedures to be redesigned around artificial intelligence capabilities. It also aims to enable systems to perform tasks proactively and accurately. The government states that these changes are intended to contribute to lower operational costs, higher productivity, and faster and more efficient services. These are stated objectives of the programme, not measured results from completed deployments.

Implementation will receive senior oversight. His Highness Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed Al Nahyan is assigned to oversee the transformation. A dedicated taskforce chaired by Mohammad Abdullah Al Gergawi, Minister of Cabinet Affairs, is responsible for driving and following up on execution.

The announcement also says that the performance of ministers, directors general, and federal entities will be assessed during the two year period. The stated criteria include their ability to adopt the transformation, their speed in implementing new standards, their understanding of technological change, and their command of artificial intelligence tools.

Training is part of the planned transformation

The framework includes continuous specialised training for federal government employees. The programme is intended to help employees master artificial intelligence tools and build their ability to manage the transformation during the planned implementation period.

The official announcement gives particular attention to national capabilities. It says government employees will be trained and empowered to master generative artificial intelligence technologies and their applications. This training is an announced component of the framework. The sources do not report that the training programme has already been completed or that workforce readiness has been measured.

The government places this programme within a longer period of digital transformation. The announcement refers to earlier adoption of electronic government, mobile government, integrated systems, UAE Pass, service redesign, and proactive digital services. It also cites the UAE Artificial Intelligence Strategy 2031 as part of the national direction supporting the new framework.

What the announcement means for UAE businesses

For UAE businesses, the announcement signals planned changes in how federal government processes, services, and operations may use artificial intelligence. Since the rollout is phased and the first participating services have not been named, businesses cannot yet determine which specific interactions will change first.

The stated objectives include more proactive task execution and faster, more efficient services. Businesses should treat these as programme goals until the government publishes implementation details or measured results. The approved sources do not specify application procedures, technical requirements, procurement opportunities, or obligations for private suppliers under the agentic AI framework.

At the same Cabinet meeting, the government approved policies for digital service records and government service data sharing. The digital records policy establishes digital records as the official source of core data and addresses data quality. The data sharing policy follows the principle of collecting data once and using it securely across entities. It includes federal and local entities and the private sector within its integration scope while addressing privacy and information security.

These related policies provide context for the planned use of artificial intelligence across connected government operations. However, the announcements do not claim that they prove the effectiveness of agentic AI or guarantee particular business outcomes. The clearest indicators for businesses will be future announcements identifying participating entities, affected services, implementation stages, and assessed results.