FAB just hired an AI firm to find its next big clients

FAB is leaning harder into AI — but not for flashy chatbot demos. It has appointed Presight to roll out an AI and analytics platform designed to sharpen commercial growth decisions and make branch/ATM planning less guesswork, more data. The partnership focuses on two practical targets: finding the right corporate clients faster, and putting physical banking infrastructure where it makes sense as demand and trade flows shift.

If you want context on Presight’s wider push in the UAE, here are related reads on Tbreak: Presight and Abu Dhabi Aviation partner for AI-driven fleet maintenance and CBUAE and Presight launch an AI finance venture. You can also browse our AI coverage and FinTech stories.

What FAB and Presight agreed to do

FAB has signed a contract with Presight to deploy AI-driven analytics that support commercial growth strategy and operational planning.

• Parties: First Abu Dhabi Bank (FAB) and Presight
• Location: UAE-led programme with broader global footprint implied via FAB’s international presence
• Focus areas:
  • Growth intelligence
  • Resource planning
• What’s new: building on earlier pilots and proof-of-concept deployments already run at FAB

This is positioned as a “responsible AI” collaboration, with both sides framing it as part of the UAE’s wider financial innovation agenda.

Growth intelligence

This part is about helping FAB’s teams spot the best corporate and institutional opportunities earlier, with better targeting.

• Data inputs include:
  • Economic data
  • Sectoral data
  • Firmographic data (plain English: company facts like size, industry, footprint, and structure)
• Outputs for teams include:
  • Ranked opportunity lists (who to contact first)
  • Geospatial heatmaps (where demand and opportunity cluster)

For relationship managers, the promise is simple: less time chasing weak leads, more time on accounts with stronger conversion potential — and more consistent priorities across commercial teams.

Resource planning

This piece focuses on the physical network: branches and ATMs. It’s not glamorous, but it’s expensive — and it affects customer access.

• Presight will use:
  • Geospatial analysis (mapping demand and behaviour by area)
  • Econometric analysis (using economic patterns to support planning decisions)
• Intended outcomes:
  • Better coverage and accessibility
  • Lower cost-to-serve
  • Infrastructure that stays aligned to customer demand and shifting trade flows

In other words: if customer behaviour moves, the network should move with it — instead of staying stuck in yesterday’s assumptions.

Why this matters for UAE banking

This partnership isn’t framed as “AI for AI’s sake”. It’s tied to concrete banking outcomes: growth, planning, and decision-making speed.

• For business customers, it can mean:
  • Faster, better-matched outreach from the bank
  • More relevant engagement from relationship teams
• For everyday access, it can mean:
  • Smarter placement of branches/ATMs over time
  • Better alignment with how communities and commercial zones evolve

It also shows how UAE banks are treating AI as a planning layer across the business — not just a single app or a marketing headline.

What comes next

Presight and FAB say they are deepening the collaboration to embed AI across more of the bank’s ecosystem.

• Areas mentioned for future expansion include:
  • Client engagement
  • Credit assessment
  • Operational forecasting
  • Strategic planning

If that rollout happens as described, the “growth intelligence + resource planning” phase looks like the foundation — the part that proves value before wider deployment.

For more on the organisations: Presight and First Abu Dhabi Bank (FAB).

FAQ

What is Presight doing for FAB?

Presight will deploy AI and analytics solutions to support FAB in growth intelligence (finding high-potential clients) and resource planning (optimising branches and ATMs).

What does “growth intelligence” mean here?

It’s an AI-powered analytics platform that combines multi-source data and produces outputs like ranked opportunity lists and geospatial heatmaps for FAB’s commercial teams.

What does “resource planning” mean in this project?

It means using geospatial and econometric analysis to help FAB plan and optimise its branch and ATM network based on demand, accessibility, cost-to-serve, and trade flows.

Is this new work or an expansion?

It builds on earlier Presight work at FAB that started as pilot programmes and proofs of concept, and is now moving into a contracted deployment.

Will this affect retail customers directly?

The announcement focuses on corporate/institutional growth and physical network planning. Any direct retail impact would likely come through improved access (branch/ATM alignment) and better operational planning over time.

Written by

Share

Copied