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Why UAE government entities are hiring AI virtual assistants
As the Ministry of Economy and Tourism introduces its first virtual employee, the country accelerates its transition toward an AI-powered government ecosystem
- PUBLISHED: Wed 20 May 2026, 5:20 PM
The UAE government’s is undergoing a futuristic transformation. Across federal and local departments, a new type of AI employee is working — and they can process millions of inquiries in seconds.
The latest entity to join this digital revolution is the Ministry of Economy and Tourism, which recently unveiled 'Rashid', its first AI virtual assistant. Designed to bring residents and investors the latest updates on the country’s economic and tourism sectors, Rashid represents a growing trend of government bodies integrating artificial intelligence directly into their public-facing and operational roles.
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In a video shared on the ministry’s official platforms, the digital employee, dressed in traditional Emirati attire, introduces himself: “I focus on everything related to the economy and tourism in the UAE.”
A growing digital workforce
Rashid is not alone in this new wave of digital civil servants. He joins a rapidly expanding roster of AI-powered assistants that are fundamentally changing how the UAE government interacts with the public and manages its internal operations.
Earlier this year, the Dubai Electricity and Water Authority (DEWA) announced that a ‘virtual engineer’ will officially start working in June 2026.
This AI system is designed to monitor power generation assets, provide predictive alerts, and offer performance improvement recommendations. DEWA is already a pioneer in this space, with its existing virtual employee, 'Rammas', having successfully answered over 12 million customer inquiries to date.
Similarly, Dubai Municipality previously introduced 'Fares', a virtual assistant designed to fulfill citizen requests and answer queries through voice and WhatsApp integrations.
What this means for the UAE’s AI transition
The increasing ‘hiring’ of AI assistants is not merely a technological novelty; it is a deliberate, top-down strategy driven from the highest levels of government.
In a landmark announcement on April 23, 2026, Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President, Prime Minister and Ruler of Dubai, unveiled a world-first government framework to deploy Agentic AI across 50 per cent of UAE federal government sectors and operations within two years.
Agentic AI goes far beyond chatbots and virtual assistants. It refers to autonomous AI systems capable of monitoring changes, providing real-time analysis, managing operations, and executing an independent series of actions all without human intervention.
Sheikh Mohammed’s said, “AI will be our government executive partner to support decisions, enhance services, boost the efficiency of operations, and even evaluate results and introduce improvements in real time.”
The initiative is not simply a vision statement. On May 18, 2026, the UAE Cabinet approved a detailed governance framework defining the roles and responsibilities of all ministries and federal entities in implementing the project.
The Cabinet also approved the first package of government services to be powered by Agentic AI, covering four categories: citizens’ services, residents’ services, business sector services, and general public services.
To ensure the human workforce keeps pace, the Cabinet simultaneously launched what it described as the largest training programme in the history of the UAE Government — a plan to train 80,000 federal employees in Agentic AI tools and technologies, from ministers and senior executives down to new joiners across every ministry and authority. A dedicated digital platform will deliver personalised learning pathways tailored to each employee’s role.
Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed Al Nahyan has been tasked with overseeing the entire transformation, with a dedicated taskforce chaired by Minister of Cabinet Affairs Mohammad Abdullah Al Gergawi driving execution on the ground.
The implications are profound. For residents and investors, this shift means faster, more accessible government services delivered around the clock. For the business community, it signals a government that is leaner, more data-driven, and more responsive.
And for the UAE’s global standing, it cements the country’s position at the very frontier of the AI revolution; a journey that began in 2017 when the UAE became the first country in the world to appoint a Minister of State for Artificial Intelligence.
As Sheikh Mohammed put it, “The journey to UAE Government 4.0 has begun.” Virtual employees like Rashid and Rammas are part of that UAE journey of transformation that is already well underway.
Ruqayya Alqaydi is a Special Correspondent with an endless curiosity to learn. Like a journalist on a caffeine overdrive, she is fuelled by passion and on a mission to uncover every gem in the UAE.