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AI agents to become the new ‘staff’ as firms go AI-first, say experts
Abu Dhabi will become the world’s first AI-native government next year, says Wesam Lootah, Director General of GovDigital at the Department of Government Enablement, Abu Dhabi
- PUBLISHED: Sun 27 Sept 2026, 11:23 AM UPDATED: Sun 27 Sept 2026, 8:10 PM
Imagine an AI assistant that notices your child has left a school PE kit on a train, contacts the bus and metro operators’ lost-and-found desks on its own, tracks the item down and arranges for it to be shipped home – without a single extra instruction.
According to Robin Forbes, global CEO of R/GA, it is a preview of what he calls the “personal agents” era – AI systems that will act as an individual’s own staff, sourcing information and transacting on their behalf.
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“We’re going to have a network of personal agents that are acting on our behalf – sourcing information, transacting on our behalf, making our lives, or arranging our lives,” Forbes told Khaleej Times, citing Meta’s Muse agent, which he said drew 2.5 million downloads in the US within two weeks of its launch, with OpenAI and Anthropic expected to follow with their own versions.
This comes as companies in the UAE increasingly shift from a digital-first to an AI-first approach as the role of artificial intelligence (AI) grows at an exceptionally fast pace.
Forbes was speaking as R/GA formally announced the establishment of its Abu Dhabi business, capping a decade-long regional relationship. Over the past decade, R/GA has worked with G42, Wio Bank, National Bank of Kuwait, Banque Saudi Fransi, Emirates NBD and others on digital products and AI-driven customer experiences.
Largest AI-first expo
Interestingly, the world’s largest AI-first expo and summit will be held in Abu Dhabi on October 6-7 at Adnec Centre.
Ai Everything Abu Dhabi 2026 convenes more than 400 AI infrastructure builders, model makers, unicorns and startups, and more than 200 investors with $91 billion in assets under management, alongside governments, academia and tech executives from 60 countries. More than 180 speakers will lead the Summit lineup.
More than 50 UAE government entities are participating, spearheaded by the Department of Government Enablement, Abu Dhabi (DGE) as Host Partner, representing the largest showcase of public-sector AI use cases.
At the Summit, Ahmed Tamim Hisham Al Kuttab, Chairman of DGE, and Wesam Lootah, director general at DGE, will bring Abu Dhabi’s model of AI-native government into sharp focus on the global stage.
“Abu Dhabi will become the world’s first AI-native government next year, and the evidence is already clear in the way we’re redefining public services for millions of people and businesses. We have built the blueprint, and Ai Everything Abu Dhabi is our invitation to the world to examine it, to see what intelligent governance looks like at scale, and the enormous benefits it delivers to people’s lives today,” said Lootah.
More AI unicorns will take the stage in Abu Dhabi than at any other AI event this year, another marker of Abu Dhabi leading the race to build the world’s intelligent future.
A decade in the making
Bertrand Morin, executive director for Mena at R/GA, said the UAE government’s mandate to become fully AI-powered will trickle down to all parts of society, meaning the adoption of AI will be much wider in the country.
Forbes contrasted this with the US, where he said activity is “more from the private sector versus the government”, while the UAE has “a bigger national ambition... from the government’s perspective”.
Morin likened the shift to earlier industrial revolutions led by Britain, France and the US.
“If we take the AI revolution... UAE and the region want to be at the forefront of that,” he said, adding that Europe was still “finding out” its regulatory approach.
From G42’s ‘world-first’ interface to a formal base
R/GA’s flagship regional project is Alpha.G42.ai, a generative web platform built for G42 that adapts its entire structure – not just its content – to each user in real time.
“We think that is a world first,” Forbes said.
Faheem Ahamed, group chief marketing and communications officer at G42, said the project reflected a shift in which “the interface between an organisation and its audiences no longer needs to be fixed; it can be generated, intelligent and responsive to intent”.
“We chose to invest in setting up in Abu Dhabi because of the sovereign ambition and the AI infrastructure being built here,” Forbes said.
Asked about the wave of US-UAE AI agreements, including Abu Dhabi data centre investments involving Microsoft and Oracle, he said the evolving bilateral ties had “informed our expansion strategy”.
R/GA, founded 50 years ago and headquartered in New York, employs more than 1,000 people globally, with clients including Nike, Google, PayPal and Toyota. Its Abu Dhabi entity is officially active, with plans to move into a dedicated office later this year.
