UAE Creates AI & Data Authority, Targets 50% Agentic Government
The UAE government announced the creation of a federal Artificial Intelligence and Data Authority on June 14, 2026, reporting directly to the Cabinet. Omar Al Olama, Minister of State for Artificial Intelligence, will chair the new authority, which unifies three former digital and data bodies under a single mandate: build a faster, smarter government using AI.
The authority will oversee the UAE's ambitious plan to transition 50% of federal government operations, procedures, and services to Agentic AI models by April 2028. The Cabinet has already approved Phase One, covering four categories: Citizens' Services, Residents' Services, Business Sector Services, and General Public Services.
On June 19, the Presidential Court and Ministry of Cabinet Affairs held an Agentic AI workshop in Dubai with 600 employees, launching 90-day implementation sprints. A prior workshop on June 10 gathered 300 officials from 50 federal entities.
This is the world's first large-scale government deployment of Agentic AI — autonomous systems that analyze, decide, and execute across ministries without human intervention at every step. The question is whether the two-year timeline is realistic, and whether governance frameworks can keep pace with autonomous decision-making in public services.
For MENA builders, this is the single biggest demand signal for AI talent and services in the region. 50% of federal services on Agentic AI by 2028 means real procurement budgets, real partnerships, and real hiring. Companies building Arabic-first AI agents, integration services, or compliance tooling should be positioning now — the 90-day sprints are already running.
What is Agentic AI in government?
Agentic AI refers to autonomous AI systems that can analyze situations, make decisions, and execute actions across government services with minimal human intervention — going beyond chatbots to end-to-end process automation.