# Dubai banks race to embed AI across operations

> Emirates NBD and other Gulf lenders are moving beyond experiments to make artificial intelligence central to banking, from customer service to cybersecurity.
- Title: Dubai banks race to embed AI across operations · Fortune
- Summary: Emirates NBD and other Gulf lenders are moving beyond experiments to make artificial intelligence central to banking, from customer service to cybersecurity.
- Keywords: emirates nbd, dubai fintech summit 2026, artificial intelligence, banking transformation, openai, agentic ai, uae financial sector, cybersecurity, Fortune
- Source: Fortune — https://fortune.com/2026/11/11/inside-the-ai-revolution-reshaping-dubais-banking-sector
- Author: Melissa Hancock
- Read time: 2 min
- Topics: emirates nbd, dubai fintech summit 2026, artificial intelligence, banking transformation, openai, agentic ai, uae financial sector, cybersecurity
## UAE banking reaches an inflection point
Banking in the UAE is approaching an inflection point as AI begins to reshape everything from customer service and compliance to cybersecurity and internal operations.
## Emirates NBD scales AI from pilot to production
Emirates NBD, Dubai's largest lender by assets, has more than 150 AI initiatives underway with 65 already in production. The bank commits approximately 50 percent of its technology budget to AI.
## Emirates NBD ranked most AI-advanced in region
In June, Emirates NBD was ranked the most AI-advanced bank in the Middle East and Africa based on analysis of twenty five banks.It explicitly links AI to enterprise productivity and the UAE's national AI agenda.
## Emirates NBD deploys OpenAI models in-country
Last month, Emirates NBD became the first bank in the MENA region to deploy OpenAI's GPT models using local, in-country infrastructure. This meets strict UAE data residency, privacy and regulatory compliance laws.
## Banking will transform more in five years
Miguel Rio-Tinto, Emirates NBD's Group Chief Digital and Information Officer, said generative AI is opening new possibilities for automation across customer service, internal processes and employee support.

> Banking will transform more in the next five years than it transformed in the last 30 years.
## Cyberattacks surge as AI identifies vulnerabilities
Critical security flaws Emirates NBD must evaluate surged from approximately one thousand per month in early twenty twenty five to around fifteen thousand last month.
## UAE faces escalating cyberattack threat
Daily attempted cyberattacks in the UAE reportedly surged from around two hundred thousand to as many as seven hundred thousand amid geopolitical tensions since February twenty eighth.
## UAE targets fifty percent agentic AI adoption by twenty twenty eight
The UAE government launched a national initiative in April to transition fifty percent of all federal government operations to agentic AI systems by twenty twenty eight.
## Key takeaway

UAE banks are scaling AI from pilot projects to core operations, with Emirates NBD deploying OpenAI models and rivals adopting agentic AI to automate tasks and strengthen security.