The 2030 picture, in numbers
A study from the Dubai Future Foundation and the IBM Institute for Business Value, published in June 2026, found that 68% of UAE organisations are expected to be running AI systems at scale by 2030, slightly ahead of the global figure of 67%. In other words, roughly two in three businesses are expected to move AI from pilots and experiments into full, everyday operation. Many of them are already scaling AI across their operations rather than waiting.
PwC estimates that AI could contribute around 96 billion US dollars to the UAE economy by 2030, which would represent close to 14% of national GDP. That is one of the highest projected impacts of any country in the world in relative terms. The domestic AI market itself is forecast to grow sharply over the same period, expanding several times over from where it stood in 2023. Whichever figure you look at, the direction is the same. AI is being positioned as a core structural part of the economy, not a side sector.
The next two years: from Answering to Acting
Zoom in to the nearer term and a different theme dominates, which is the move toward AI that does things rather than just answers them. This is the shift to what the industry calls agentic AI, and the UAE is leaning into it hard.
In April 2026, the UAE Cabinet announced a plan to deploy this kind of task-performing AI across half of all government sectors and services within two years. On the business side, the appetite matches it. In a separate IBM study, 93% of UAE leaders said they expect this newer wave of AI to deliver measurable returns within two years. Government adoption is already remarkably deep, with officials reporting that AI is now used in the vast majority of federal government services. When the public sector moves this fast, it tends to pull the private sector along with it, setting expectations for what normal looks like.
The quiet race happening underneath: Skills
None of this works without people who can actually use the technology, and this is a big focus over the next two years. The UAE has launched large skills programmes aimed squarely at this gap. The One Million Prompters initiative, launched in Dubai in 2024, set out to train a million people in how to work with AI, and a separate federal effort announced with Microsoft aims to build AI skills across government teams. The lesson for private businesses is the same one the government has already acted on, which is that the technology only pays off when your people are equipped to use it well.
As an agency ourselves, this is where we're seeing significant enquires ourselves for our AI Enablement training for corporates. From SME's to CEOs, local teams and larger organisations.
The caveat worth keeping in mind
The same Dubai Future Foundation and IBM research made this point directly. Despite rising investment, it noted that many organisations still struggle to turn AI spending into lasting gains in productivity, revenue or efficiency. Tellingly, it also found that businesses with mature, well-run AI governance reported far greater productivity impact than those without. The takeaway is not that AI will automatically transform every business by 2030. It is that the businesses which get real value will be the ones that adopt with discipline, and that actually know whether it is paying off, rather than the ones that simply adopt the most.
What this means for businesses here
If you run a business in the UAE, the next few years are not really a question of whether AI becomes central to your market. That much looks settled. The question is whether you move with it deliberately or get carried along by it. The pressure to keep pace is real, and in a market moving this quickly, waiting carries its own risk. Marketing is one of the areas where this is landing earliest, changing how customers are reached, how content is produced and how brands get found.
The practical stance is neither to panic nor to ignore it. It is to be clear about what you actually want AI to do for your business, to invest in the people who will use it, and to keep an honest eye on whether it is delivering. The businesses that treat the next two years as a period to build that discipline, rather than just to buy tools, are the ones most likely to be in a strong position when 2030 arrives.
A note from Push MENA
We watch these forecasts closely because they shape the ground we work on, from how people search to how brands compete for attention. The headline numbers are genuinely striking, but we care just as much about the quieter finding underneath them, which is that discipline and good use beat sheer adoption every time. That is the part that tends to get lost in the excitement, and it is exactly where a business can gain an edge.
If you are thinking about what the next couple of years mean for your marketing, and how to move with the shift without chasing every shiny tool, that is a conversation we always enjoy.
Thinking ahead about what AI means for your marketing between now and 2030? Get in touch with Push for a grounded conversation about where things are heading and what is worth acting on now.
