Agentic AI: A reshaping force for government-citizen relationships

The UAE is well known for its leadership in artificial intelligence. As adoption has accelerated, government agencies have led the way. AI is being put to work across the country’s public sector in a variety of use cases. The Federal Authority for Identity, Citizenship, Customs, and Port Security (ICP) is using AI to speed up and improve the accuracy of visa applications, residency permits, and work authorizations. In healthcare, AI monitors, and even predicts, trends in health conditions. And bots and other AI tools are helping to optimize clinical operations, even assisting with diagnoses. In policing and national security, AI-driven surveillance and predictive analytics are revolutionizing how authorities keep UAE cities safe. And in transport, AI is reducing congestion and enhancing citizen experiences in major cities like Abu Dhabi and Dubai.

Many of these government AI projects, and others in the pipeline, leverage agentic AI. Dubai’s Department of Finance (DOF) launched Project ASCEND, a scalable agentic AI system that will automate the verification of transactions and other financial processes. LLM (large language model) and RAG (retrieval-augmented generation) technologies will come together to assess DOF’s internal workflows against external compliance requirements and offer actionable recommendations for revisions. The message being sent by UAE government entities is clear – agentic AI is a catalyst for accelerating the changes at the heart of government initiatives; it is not, in any way, a replacement for the visionary human leaders who are taking us there.

As 2026 dawns, the UAE is in a better position than ever to deliver on its ambitious vision for government services. And it is all because of agentic AI, which is much more than a mere advance in automation. Agentic AI has the potential to be an enabler of single-platform government, thereby eliminating the siloed systems that hold back progress. Agents are at their best when they operate in secure, integrated-data environments. The UAE has led the region in progress towards eGovernment and mGovernment. Now it has an opportunity to unify platforms – something many agencies have indicated they are eager to do. For example, in October the Ministry of Human Resources and Emiratization (MoHRE) announced an upcoming unified portal to streamline the private-sector employment journeys of Emiratis.

Consolidation of systems in the public sector will be a boon to cost efficiency and citizen satisfaction. The government can eliminate inefficiencies, including duplication of workflows. It can also begin to meet the expectations of its digital-native citizenry. Autonomous AI agents can greatly help with this transition. They can cross departmental boundaries with ease to connect previously disparate processes and data into seamless services. AI agents can combine personal, health, and tax data as required to pre-fill official forms for citizens and residents. AI agents will ensure that information always flows to the correct decision maker at the correct time and in the correct way. Governance is strengthened and compliance is guaranteed.

While other governments around the world are moving slowly on agentic AI and integrated-platform government services, the progress already made in the UAE indicates that leaders here have already come to realize the multi-dimensional benefits on offer. AI agents can deliver real-time visibility into entire technology stacks, including underlying infrastructure. This ability helps in a range of sustainability areas, from waste management to power usage. Other use cases allow departmental leadership teams to ease work burdens, boosting innovation and public-facing service levels.

Agentic AI is therefore a force for reshaping public services and it continues to show its potential in live and pilot programs. In January, when ADNOC conducted a broad-spectrum proof-of-concept with AI agents, the petrochemical giant reported a 70% improvement in “accuracy in major seismic interpretation aspects” and leaps forward in “advanced reservoir monitoring and anomaly detection”. Departments that deliver services to the public can use platform consolidation, and the innovation that only comes with agentic AI, to deliver efficiencies such as those discovered in ADNOC’s POC. Environmental agencies can bring together asset-monitoring solutions with logistics data to improve waste collection and reduce congestion, both of which help to tamp down carbon emissions. Healthcare providers can resolve queries more quickly. Schools and colleges can use workforce insights from different industries’ AI agents to plan their courses to be more impactful, leading to long-term improvements in skill levels within the labor market.

The public-sector single-platform vision has always required a level of data integration thought to be impractical. But agentic AI has opened the door to that vision. The only obstacle that remains is the lingering doubts of the public. However, UAE government ministries have shown decisive leadership and great faith in citizens in their moves to adopt AI agents. The government has shown that it recognizes the importance of transparency, accountably, and social responsibility when building AI systems. If the public cannot trust a platform, then its high degree of integration will do little to guarantee its success.

Fortunately, the UAE Charter for the Development and Use of Artificial Intelligence, issued as part of the UAE Strategy for Artificial Intelligence, stresses the need for AI to deliver on “human well-being and progress”, safety, objectivity, privacy, transparency, human oversight, governance (including accountability), technological excellence, and inclusive access. The Charter is just one of many sources of guidance the government has made available to private and government entities for the development and use of AI systems. Adopters of agentic AI should use these pillars on their journey.

Agentic AI is poised to become a defining characteristic of public service for the foreseeable future. The UAE Government is well positioned to set global benchmarks in this arena, as it has already shown a willingness to define its vision clearly and stress the need for citizen-centric deliverables. Its own ministries are already hard at work demolishing their silo legacies; and charters and white papers continually call for strong governance and transparency. These observations herald a bright future for the single-platform vision and boundless opportunities for competitiveness in the broader economy.

- The writer is Area VP and General Manager for GCC at ServiceNow