AI adoption among UAE businesses jumps to 72%, finds AWS report

Artificial intelligence adoption among UAE businesses has surged over the past year, with 72% of companies now using the technology, up from 53% a year earlier, according to the latest report from Amazon Web Services (AWS) and the UAE Artificial Intelligence Office.

The increase represents 36% year-on-year growth and points to how quickly AI is moving from experimentation into wider business use across the country. The findings come from the Unlocking the UAE’s AI Potential 2026 report, developed by research firm Strand Partners as part of a collaboration between AWS and the UAE Artificial Intelligence Office.

The report also found that 85% of businesses adopting AI say the technology has accelerated the pace of digital change within their organizations, with further acceleration expected in the coming years.

“The UAE has long recognized AI as a key driver of economic growth, better services and future competitiveness,” said Dr. Abdelrahman Al Mahmoud, Director at the UAE Artificial Intelligence Office. “Our focus is on creating the right environment for organizations to innovate, scale new solutions and translate the potential of AI into meaningful outcomes for society.”

The findings come as the UAE continues to invest heavily in the infrastructure needed to support its AI ambitions. AWS plans to invest up to AED 20.1 billion ($5.47 billion) in its Middle East (UAE) Region through 2037, an investment estimated to contribute AED 41 billion ($11.16 billion) to the country’s GDP.

Cloud infrastructure is increasingly becoming the backbone of this expansion, giving companies access to the computing capacity, AI tools, and services needed to deploy the technology at scale.

Chris Erasmus, General Manager, UAE, Rest of Middle East and North Africa at AWS, said businesses are increasingly shifting their attention from whether to adopt AI to how to expand its use responsibly.

“In the UAE, leadership doesn’t wait for perfect conditions – it acts,” he said. “What we’re seeing in this research reflects that businesses are adopting AI at speed, moving beyond ‘can we use this?’ to ‘how do we scale it responsibly?’”

Erasmus added that AWS’s investments in regional infrastructure, partnerships, and skills are intended to give organizations the technical capabilities and sovereign controls needed to translate AI experimentation into practical applications.

Several UAE companies are already deploying AWS cloud and generative AI technologies, including Property Finder, Virgin Mobile UAE, The ENTERTAINER, and Careem, according to the report, using them to improve operational performance and reshape customer experiences.

The expansion is also putting greater emphasis on data sovereignty and regulatory compliance. AWS and e& enterprise have launched the AWS UAE Sovereign Launchpad, endorsed by the UAE Cybersecurity Council and designed to give government entities and enterprises greater control over their data while meeting compliance requirements.

AWS is separately backing the development of sovereign cloud and AI capabilities through a $1 billion investment with e&.

Beyond infrastructure, the report highlights talent as another critical factor in determining whether the UAE can sustain the pace of AI adoption.

AWS’s AI Nation – Afaaq Program aims to provide 30,000 people across the UAE with free access to AWS training. The company also collaborates with the Mohamed bin Zayed University of Artificial Intelligence (MBZUAI) and supports Qudwatech, a mentorship initiative that supports Emirati women working in technology at different stages of their careers.

The report argues that maintaining the UAE’s momentum will require businesses to move beyond incremental improvements from AI and pursue deeper innovation, supported by infrastructure, skilled workers and a trusted regulatory environment.

It identifies four areas as particularly important: accelerating responsible AI adoption through secure and scalable cloud infrastructure; ensuring regulation enables innovation rather than slowing it; addressing skills shortages as the UAE develops its knowledge economy; and widening access to funding, particularly for AI-first startups and small and medium-sized businesses.

“With 72% of businesses in the UAE now adopting AI, we are seeing the impact of a model built on turning ambition into action,” Al Mahmoud said. “This progress reflects how the UAE has moved from setting a clear national vision for AI to enabling adoption at scale, creating a success story with global relevance and delivering tangible impact across the economy.”

The findings suggest the UAE is entering a new phase of its AI push, one in which the focus is increasingly shifting from encouraging businesses to adopt the technology to ensuring they have the infrastructure, talent, funding and regulatory conditions needed to deploy it at scale.