Nearly three-quarters of UAE businesses have adopted AI, according to new research from AWS and the UAE Artificial Intelligence Office. But how many companies use the technology is only part of the story. The bigger question is what that use actually delivers for employees, customers and residents.
The Unlocking the UAE’s AI Potential 2026 report, developed by research firm Strand Partners, puts business AI adoption at 72%, up from 53% a year earlier. That is a rise of 19 percentage points, or roughly 36% year-on-year.
Those numbers suggest AI is becoming a regular part of business in the UAE. Another finding shows how much room remains for its development: just 31% of AI adopters are deploying what the report’s accompanying infographic describes as advanced AI.
That doesn’t mean simpler tools aren’t useful. An assistant that saves someone time drafting documents or finding information can justify its place at work. It does mean that an adoption headline alone cannot tell us how deeply AI is changing a business—or whether customers are getting a better experience.
What does useful AI look like?
The question of practical value surfaced during a discussion between Chris Erasmus, AWS Managing Director for UAE and MENA Growth Markets, and Dr Abdelrahman Al Mahmoud, Director at the UAE Artificial Intelligence Office.
Asked about priorities including computing infrastructure, energy readiness and investment, Al Mahmoud said all were important. He then turned to the outcomes that infrastructure should enable.
Creating value out of this is a piece of the puzzle that is going to become the focus in the next few years.
He described an ecosystem that creates better experiences, savings and real benefits for society. For people using AI-enabled services, that is a useful standard against which to judge progress.
A quicker answer is helpful if it is accurate. An automated process is an improvement if it reduces the work someone has to do. Adding an AI feature to an app becomes meaningful when it solves a problem that users actually have.
The research suggests businesses are already seeing benefits. According to the accompanying infographic, 85% of AI adopters report accelerated innovation timelines. That is an encouraging finding, although it measures businesses’ reported experience rather than independently establishing improvements in the services their customers receive.
The next test is whether those gains become visible beyond the organisations deploying the technology.
Skills could determine what happens next
The same material identifies a substantial obstacle: 48% cite skills shortages as a barrier. It also reports that 31% lack sufficient financial resources to expand their use of AI.
Both findings help explain why widespread adoption can coexist with more limited use of advanced systems. Starting with an AI tool and building it into everyday operations involve different levels of effort, expertise and spending.
For a business, the challenge extends beyond giving employees access to software. Someone needs to identify a useful task, understand the information involved, assess the output and decide when a person should step in.
Al Mahmoud pointed to workforce training as part of the government’s response. Around 30,000 government employees are undergoing an upskilling programme to prepare for AI and the transition towards agentic systems, he said during the discussion.
That figure refers to people undergoing training, not to 30,000 employees who have already become AI specialists. Still, it gives a sense of the scale of the effort described.
He also emphasised the importance of introducing the wider public to coding and AI through opportunities to participate and create something themselves. His argument was that a useful first experience can encourage people to keep learning.
For employers, there is a practical lesson here: demonstrating how a tool helps with someone’s work gives them a reason to use it again.
Government adoption sets an example
The discussion also explored how the government’s use of technology can encourage private businesses to follow suit.
Al Mahmoud described this as leading by example: showing what is possible can inspire organisations of different sizes to take part. Erasmus similarly highlighted the government’s ability to influence the pace of change across the country.
That influence makes the quality of implementation important. A successful service can demonstrate a useful application of AI and give other organisations a reason to explore it. The outcomes—time saved, problems resolved, and ease of use—will be more persuasive than the technology itself.
For consumers, that is where this story becomes relevant. The headline adoption figure tells us AI is spreading across businesses. It does not yet tell us how often that translates into a smoother transaction, more helpful service, or less time spent on routine tasks.
The UAE’s next phase of AI adoption will be worth watching through those everyday experiences. Businesses are reporting momentum, and the government is describing a substantial training effort. The measure of progress will be what people can do more easily as a result.
