Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum announced on April 23 that within two years, 50% of UAE government sectors, services, and operations will run on agentic AI — positioning the UAE as the first government in the world to operate at this scale through autonomous systems. The announcement came directly from the Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, launched under the directives of UAE President Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan.
The UAE's Agentic AI Government Plan Is Official
> "Under the directives of the President of the UAE, we launch a new government model. Within two years, 50% of government sectors, services, and operations will run on Agentic AI, making the UAE the first government globally to operate at this scale through autonomous systems."
The new government model sets a clear, measurable target: half of all federal government services running on agentic AI within a two-year window. No other government in the world currently operates at this scale through autonomous AI systems, placing the UAE in a category of its own.
What Agentic AI Means for Government
Sheikh Mohammed made the distinction clear in a post on X. This is not AI as a support tool.
"AI is no longer a tool. It analyses, decides, executes, and improves in real time. It will become our executive partner to enhance services, accelerate decisions, and raise efficiency," he stated.
Agentic AI refers to systems that can operate independently, make decisions, carry out tasks, and continuously improve their own performance without requiring human input at every step. Applied across government, that means faster service delivery, smarter decision-making, and significantly higher operational efficiency across ministries and federal entities.
A Clear Timeline and Measurable Targets
The plan comes with accountability built in. Sheikh Mohammed set a firm two-year deadline and outlined exactly how progress will be measured.
"Performance across government will be measured by speed of adoption, quality of implementation, and mastery of AI in redesigning government work," he said.
Implementation will be overseen by Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed, with a dedicated taskforce chaired by Minister of Cabinet Affairs Mohammad Al Gergawi driving execution across all federal entities. The rollout will follow a phased approach across ministries, guided by continuous performance and impact assessment to ensure optimal results before wider expansion.
Every Federal Employee Will Be Trained in AI
A major pillar of the UAE agentic AI plan is human development alongside technological transformation. Sheikh Mohammed confirmed that every federal government employee will be trained to master AI, with a specific focus on generative artificial intelligence and its real-world applications in government work.
"We are investing in our people," he said, adding that the goal is to build one of the world's strongest capabilities in AI-driven government.
That commitment reflects a broader principle the UAE has maintained throughout its digital transformation journey: technology should serve people, not replace the focus on them.
Built on Two Decades of Digital Progress
This announcement does not arrive in isolation. The UAE has been building toward this moment for over 20 years.
The journey began with early eGovernment adoption and service digitalisation, progressed through mobile government and integrated platforms like the UAE Pass identity verification system, and advanced further with Government Services 2.0, which introduced proactive, data-driven service delivery across federal entities.
In 2017, the UAE became the first country in the world to appoint a Minister of State for Artificial Intelligence and launched the UAE Artificial Intelligence Strategy 2031 under the UAE Centennial 2071 vision. The Ministry of Artificial Intelligence, Digital Economy and Remote Work Applications followed in 2020, cementing AI as a national strategic priority.
The agentic AI government model is the next step in that progression — and by the UAE's own measure, the most significant one yet.
What This Means for the Region and the World
The scale and speed of this commitment sets a new global benchmark for government modernisation. While many countries are still in the early stages of integrating AI into public services, the UAE is moving toward a model where autonomous systems handle the majority of government operations within a defined and publicly committed timeframe.
Sheikh Mohammed closed his statement with the principle that underpins the entire plan: "The world is changing. Technology is accelerating. Our principle remains constant. People come first. Our goal is a government that is faster, more responsive, and more impactful."
