Published: 2026-08-25
The UAE is one of the world’s most ambitious AI markets, according to the Enterprise AI Maturity Index 2026 published by ServiceNow and compiled by ThoughtLab. UAE enterprises scored 48 out of 100 on the index, a 13-point improvement on the previous year, and AI spending by UAE organisations rose 105% year on year. 57% of UAE organisations have already implemented agentic AI, although only 7% use it to run autonomous multi-step workflows, and companies expect AI to take almost one fifth of their total IT budgets by 2027. The UAE results were released on 2026-08-18 and covered by The National on 2026-08-24. They draw on a survey of about 4,500 executives and 2,000 employees across 19 countries and 12 industries, including 100 executives in the UAE.
What the Enterprise AI Maturity Index measures
ServiceNow’s index is an annual benchmark of how far organisations have moved from AI experiments to AI as an operating model. ThoughtLab, the research firm behind the survey, scores companies on strategy, data readiness, governance, talent, workflow integration and measurable outcomes, then aggregates the results by country. The 2026 edition polled about 4,500 executives and 2,000 employees in 19 countries and 12 industries; the UAE sample covers 100 executives. The UAE country score of 48 out of 100 is not a top absolute mark. The 13-point year-on-year gain is what puts the country in the “most ambitious” bracket: few markets in the survey moved that fast in twelve months.
Saif Mashat, ServiceNow’s vice president for the Middle East and Africa, summarised the position: “The UAE remains one of the world’s most ambitious AI markets and the government’s long-term strategy and regulatory leadership have given organisations a genuine head start.” He added that the companies pulling ahead “are moving from AI pilots to AI orchestration, connecting legacy systems, data, governance and AI agents in one control tower.”
UAE results in numbers
| Indicator | UAE figure |
|---|---|
| Enterprise AI maturity score | 48 out of 100 |
| Change versus the previous edition | +13 points |
| Growth in AI spending, year on year | +105% |
| Expected AI share of total IT budgets by 2027 | Almost 20% |
| Organisations that have implemented agentic AI | 57% |
| Organisations using agentic AI for autonomous, multi-step workflows | 7% |
| Organisations that replaced legacy systems with integrated platforms | 14% |
| Executives citing inadequate data as a barrier to AI | 77% |
| Organisations with AI testing, auditing and risk-management processes | 16% |
| UAE executives surveyed | 100 |
For comparison, across all 19 surveyed countries 59% of organisations say they are able to use agentic AI, but only 9% have made significant progress building autonomous multi-step workflows with it. The UAE sits slightly below both global figures, and the pattern is the same: broad experimentation, narrow deep deployment.
Agentic AI: 57% have it, 7% let it run on its own
Agentic AI refers to systems that do not just answer questions but take actions: open a ticket, check a database, draft and send a document, trigger the next step in a process. The index shows that 57% of UAE organisations have some form of agentic AI in place. The 7% figure is the more telling one. It means that in most UAE companies AI agents assist employees with individual tasks rather than executing end-to-end workflows without a human in the loop. ServiceNow’s reading is that most deployments are aimed at employee productivity, not at redesigning how the business operates.
The report explains the gap through infrastructure. “Many organisations are still trying to layer AI onto fragmented technology environments, disconnected data and siloed workflows,” the analysis says. Only 14% of UAE organisations have replaced legacy systems with an integrated platform, 77% of UAE executives name inadequate data accuracy or access as a barrier, and only 16% have formal processes for AI testing, auditing and risk management. An agent that has to work across five disconnected systems with unreliable data cannot safely be given autonomy, which is why the autonomous-workflow share stays in single digits.
Spending: +105% in a year, one fifth of IT budgets by 2027
The investment side of the index is where the “ambitious” label comes from. AI spending by UAE organisations grew 105% year on year, and respondents expect AI to account for almost one fifth of total IT budgets by 2027. Both figures run ahead of the execution metrics above. In practical terms, UAE companies are buying AI capability faster than they are re-engineering their data and processes to absorb it. Mr Mashat’s remark that it is not enough for entities to simply invest in AI, and that “the challenge for enterprises now is to bring that same discipline and consistency into their own organisations”, is a direct reference to this gap.
The national backdrop: Microsoft, Nvidia, OpenAI and a 5 GW campus
The index measures companies, but the report and The National’s coverage both point to the national context that gives UAE enterprises their head start. For more than a decade the UAE has positioned AI as a pillar of economic diversification away from hydrocarbons. That policy has produced partnerships and investments with Microsoft, Nvidia and OpenAI, a dedicated AI ministry with its own regulatory agenda, and the UAE-US agreement to build an AI campus in Abu Dhabi with 5 GW of capacity for AI data centres. On the enterprise side, the telecom operator du is training 10,000 SMEs in agentic AI, which we covered in du’s agentic AI programme for 10,000 SMEs. The ServiceNow index effectively asks whether private companies are keeping pace with that public infrastructure. The answer for 2026 is: in spending, yes; in execution, not yet.
How the UAE compares with other surveyed markets
The report singles out two contrasts. France showed more resistance to AI than other countries. In Saudi Arabia, employees tended to be more resistant to the technology “due to more rigid, risk-averse workplaces, compounded by siloed data and overlapping tools”. The UAE’s 13-point jump therefore stands out within the region as well as globally, and the country is described as a market where government strategy has already created “many of the conditions for AI leadership”, leaving the remaining work to the companies themselves.
What the index means for a company operating in the UAE
For a business owner or manager in the UAE, the numbers translate into a fairly concrete agenda. The market context is favourable: the regulator is supportive, the infrastructure is being built at national scale, and more than half of local competitors and counterparties already run some form of AI agent. The differentiator, according to the index, is not whether a company has AI but whether it has the data, the integrated systems and the governance to let AI do real work.
- Data first: 77% of UAE executives cite inadequate data as the barrier. Clean, accessible company data is the precondition for any agentic deployment.
- Integration over pilots: only 14% have moved off fragmented legacy systems. Pilots built on top of silos rarely graduate to production.
- Governance early: only 16% have AI testing, auditing and risk-management processes. These are what allow an agent to move from assisting to acting.
- Budget realism: with AI heading for one fifth of IT spend by 2027, the question is which workflows justify the cost, not whether to spend.
- Talent and residency: AI projects are staffed by people, and staff in the UAE need employment visas. Plan hiring with the visa timeline in mind.
For entrepreneurs relocating a technology business or setting up an AI-focused company in the UAE, the index is also a demand signal: 57% of local organisations already buy and deploy agentic tools, and the gap between “implemented” and “autonomous” is exactly the space where integration, data and AI-governance services are sold.
How Atlant Capital can help
Atlant Capital sets up and supports companies in the UAE, including technology and AI service providers that want to work with the enterprise market described in this index. We select the licence and the free zone or mainland jurisdiction that matches the activity, from software development to IT consultancy, prepare the incorporation file and handle the authority. See company setup in the UAE for the process and timelines.
Once the company is licensed, we arrange residency for founders and key staff through the work visa and residency service, and accompany the business through corporate bank account opening, where technology companies with international clients are reviewed closely and a clear business description makes the difference.
Conclusion
The Enterprise AI Maturity Index 2026 places the UAE among the world’s most ambitious AI markets on the strength of a 13-point rise in its maturity score to 48 out of 100, a 105% increase in AI spending and an expected AI share of almost one fifth of IT budgets by 2027. Adoption is broad, with 57% of UAE organisations running agentic AI, but deep deployment is narrow: 7% run autonomous workflows, 14% have integrated platforms and 16% have AI governance processes. The national infrastructure, from the Microsoft, Nvidia and OpenAI partnerships to the 5 GW Abu Dhabi campus, is in place. The next step, according to ServiceNow, belongs to the companies.
FAQ
What is the UAE’s score in the Enterprise AI Maturity Index 2026?
UAE enterprises scored 48 out of 100 in ServiceNow’s Enterprise AI Maturity Index 2026, compiled by ThoughtLab. That is a 13-point improvement on the previous year, which is why the report describes the UAE as one of the world’s most ambitious AI markets. The UAE results were released on 2026-08-18.
How many UAE companies use agentic AI?
According to the index, 57% of UAE organisations have implemented agentic AI in some form. However, only 7% use it to build autonomous, multi-step workflows; most deployments are aimed at employee productivity rather than end-to-end automation. Globally, 59% of organisations can use agentic AI and 9% have made significant progress with autonomous workflows.
How much are UAE companies spending on AI?
AI spending by UAE organisations rose 105% year on year, according to the 2026 index, and UAE respondents expect AI to account for almost one fifth of total IT budgets by 2027. The report notes that investment is running ahead of execution: only 14% of organisations have replaced legacy systems with integrated platforms and 77% of executives cite inadequate data as a barrier.
Who conducted the Enterprise AI Maturity Index survey?
The index is published by ServiceNow and compiled by the research firm ThoughtLab. The 2026 edition surveyed about 4,500 executives and 2,000 employees across 19 countries and 12 industries. The UAE sample includes 100 executives.
