Abu Dhabi Uses OpenAI Models to Check Food Imports in Machine-Readable Government Pilot

The Department of Government Enablement – Abu Dhabi (DGE) leads the initiative. According to CXO Digitalpulse and The Next Web, the department is converting written policies and regulations into structured formats that AI systems can read and apply. The first deployment, which the reports say is already in production, is at the Abu Dhabi Agriculture and Food Safety Authority (ADAFSA), where it handles food import checks. Inception42, a G42 company, is building the pilot with its Policy Adoption Engine, a tool that turns written policies into automated compliance checks.

How The System Works

The AI assesses routine applications, such as permits and certificates, against existing rules. Each result is linked to the regulatory provision it relied on. Officials review complex cases and make the final decisions. CXO Digitalpulse reported that the initiative "does not transfer final government decision-making authority to AI systems". The report added that the framework is not meant for autonomous decisions in high-stakes areas or on matters affecting people's rights and access to essential services.

The stated aim is faster, more consistent and more traceable processing. The report said reviews that once took days of manual work could be done in minutes, at any hour. Neither outlet gave processing times or application volumes from the ADAFSA pilot.

Processing runs on GPUs in UAE data centres through OpenAI's in-country inference service, under UAE cybersecurity standards and Abu Dhabi law. The government keeps ownership of the data the system generates. Under the announced safeguards, that data will not be used to train AI models, and separate rules will govern how it is stored, used and deleted.

Abu Dhabi plans to extend the framework to construction permits, business and freelance licensing, data access governance, human resources compliance and procurement. The programme sits within the Abu Dhabi Government Digital Strategy 2025–2027. That strategy has a budget of AED 13 billion, about $3.5 billion, and aims to make Abu Dhabi the world's first AI-native government by 2027.

Four Agreements in One Day

According to The Next Web, which cited the Abu Dhabi Media Office, Sheikh Khaled bin Mohamed bin Zayed, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi, attended the signings after meeting OpenAI chief executive Sam Altman. The other three agreements were:

Mubadala signed with OpenAI and Inception42 to use AI for investment analysis, finding opportunities and assessing risk.

Inception42 and OpenAI signed a five-year agreement to bring OpenAI's models to government, businesses and schools in the UAE.

ADNOC agreed to become the first energy company to deploy OpenAI Frontier. ADNOC chief executive Dr Sultan Ahmed Al Jaber announced this deal, which also involves G42, in his opening address at ADIPEC 2026.

No financial terms were disclosed for any of the deals. In a statement, Altman said Abu Dhabi and the UAE are "setting a bold, global standard for AI integration across both the public and private sectors."

OpenAI's Account of the Partnership

Rod Solaimani, OpenAI's Policy and Partnerships Lead for MENA and Central Asia, told the Emirates News Agency (WAM) in an interview published on Wednesday that talks between OpenAI executives and UAE officials began in 2023. Those early talks covered whether there would be enough chips and energy to meet demand for AI, and which countries had the vision and capabilities to deploy it for their populations.

Solaimani said the cooperation now covers four areas: energy, government enablement, investment and AI deployment. He said OpenAI's UAE partners had pushed for ambitious, practical projects rather than focusing only on long-term plans. He also linked the deals to the energy sector's role in AI. "Our mission is to put AI in the hands of as many people as possible, to distribute its benefits as widely as possible," he said, adding that reaching that goal depends on investment in computing infrastructure and energy.