Dubai Chambers will train more than 14,000 member companies to adopt agentic AI, as the emirate moves to prepare its private sector for the technology's next phase, the business body said on September 7.

The rollout is one of the largest corporate AI upskilling efforts in the Gulf, and forms part of a wider Dubai programme to transition private companies towards agentic AI, launched under directives from Crown Prince Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum. It positions Dubai to move from assessing the technology to deploying it at scale across its business base, at a point when most regional markets are still weighing adoption.

The training is open to member companies of the Business Groups and Business Councils operating under Dubai Chamber of Commerce, and covers the use of agentic AI to improve operations, efficiency, productivity and decision-making. Agentic AI refers to systems that can carry out multi-step tasks and make decisions with limited human oversight, a step beyond the generative AI tools that have dominated corporate adoption to date.

"Agentic AI is opening up new possibilities for the way companies operate. It can help manage complex tasks, enable more effective decision-making, enhance productivity, and create new opportunities for growth," said Dubai Chambers chairman Sultan bin Saeed Al Mansoori. He said the tracks aimed to equip firms to translate the technology's potential into practical applications.

Training will be delivered through the newly established Dubai Chambers Academy, an integrated e-learning platform launched in the presence of Al Mansoori, Dubai Chambers president and chief executive Mohammad Ali Rashed Lootah, and 90 chairpersons of the business groups and councils. The curriculum covers tools targeting operational efficiency and decision-making, with participants identifying applications relevant to their own commercial models.

The initiative sits within a broader framework that includes support for companies developing and deploying agentic AI, incubators for AI start-ups, and structured knowledge-sharing. Dubai Chambers has also established an Executive Committee for Agentic AI to accelerate private-sector adoption.

The programme aligns with Dubai's wider strategy to position itself as a global AI hub, set out in the Dubai Universal Blueprint for Artificial Intelligence and supported by the Dubai AI Campus at the DIFC Innovation Hub, billed as the region's largest cluster of AI and advanced-technology companies. Dubai appointed the world's first minister of state for artificial intelligence in 2017 and has since made AI adoption central to its economic diversification agenda.

Dubai Chamber of Commerce is one of three chambers operating under Dubai Chambers, alongside the Dubai International Chamber and the Dubai Chamber of Digital Economy. Its business groups and councils represent companies across sectors and act as a channel between the private sector and government on economic policy.