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Dubai ranks second globally in adoption of AI, intelligent technology
Index evaluates the maturity of cities in deploying digital technologies and AI to deliver tangible outcomes for residents and businesses
- PUBLISHED: Wed 5 Aug 2026, 4:06 PM
- By:
- WAM
Dubai is ranked second globally in the Intelligent Cities Index published by the Boston Consulting Group (BCG), which evaluated 61 cities across 39 countries.
The ranking reaffirms Dubai's global leadership in harnessing advanced technologies and AI to enhance quality of life, elevate government services, and facilitate business, reflecting the emirate's success in building a human-centric, future-ready digital city.
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Published for the first time by Boston Consulting Group, the index evaluates the maturity of cities in deploying digital technologies and AI to deliver tangible outcomes for residents and businesses.
It assesses 61 major cities across five key domains: Outcomes, Strategy, Adoption, Ways of Working, and Enablers, supported by 35 indicators covering 14 dimensions of digital transformation. Together, these provide a comprehensive assessment of how effectively cities leverage technology to drive sustainable development and strengthen their global competitiveness.
The report stated that Dubai ranks first globally in the Adoption of AI technologies and smart city solutions, which recorded the strongest performance across the index's five domains. This reflects the emirate's extensive deployment of AI applications and smart digital services across multiple sectors. Dubai's strong performance in this area has contributed to one of the highest levels of digital maturity among the cities assessed, demonstrating its success in converting advanced technologies into practical services and solutions that generate measurable value for people and businesses.
The report found that cities embedding AI at the core of their services and operations achieve faster and more sustainable improvements in quality of life and service delivery. It also concluded that leading AI cities have a broader portfolio of real-world AI use cases and consistently achieve higher levels of resident satisfaction, highlighting the growing shift towards embedding AI at the core of city operating models rather than a supporting technology.
The report further identified a powerful link between frequent use of generative AI tools and higher levels of public trust in these technologies, as well as more positive perceptions of their future role. It also noted that cities across the Middle East, including Dubai, demonstrate particularly strong enthusiasm for adopting and harnessing AI.