UAE hits 70% AI adoption rate to lead global rankings in 2026

The UAE has recorded the highest global rate of artificial intelligence adoption in 2026, with 70.1 percent of its working-age population utilizing the technology, according to the latest Global AI Diffusion Report by Microsoft. The data, released for the first quarter of 2026, confirms the UAE as the first economy worldwide to exceed the 70 percent threshold, while global averages in many regions remain below 10 percent. Federal transformation and new regulatory bodies To manage this rapid integration, the UAE government has established the Federal Authority for Artificial Intelligence and Data. This new body is tasked with integrating national data and digital government systems to prepare federal infrastructure for autonomous operations. Concurrently, the government launched the Agentic AI Project, which aims to convert 50 percent of federal sectors and services into autonomous, AI-driven models within the next two years. In Abu Dhabi, the government is executing a roadmap to become fully "AI-native" by 2027. A key component of this strategy is the AINative training programme, a collaboration between Mohamed bin Zayed University of Artificial Intelligence (MBZUAI), OpenAI, and Microsoft. The initiative is on track to equip 20,000 government employees with specialized AI skills by the end of 2026. Healthcare and infrastructure integration The healthcare sector has seen the deployment of the world’s first AI-powered smart surgical network by the Department of Health – Abu…