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J·Index / Countries / United Arab Emirates

AI in United Arab Emirates's news media

9 verified, source-linked AI implementations across 7 news organizations, 2019–2025.
Middle East and North Africa2019–2025
Cases
9
Organizations
7
Active since
2019
Controversies
0
Compared with the global pattern, Multimedia & Visual Production accounts for 33% of cases here against 4% worldwide.

What AI is used for — and how that differs

United Arab Emiratesworldwide sharepp = percentage-point difference
Multimedia & Visual Production3+29pp
Content Production & Automation2+8pp
AI Ethics & Editorial Policy2+18pp
AI Avatars / Synthetic Presenters1+8pp
Audience Experience & Personalisation1+4pp

How far adoption has gone

1 – Access0
2 – Adoption6
3 – Proficiency3
4 – Ways of Working0
5 – Reorganizing0

Who is adopting

Funding: Public broadcaster / state media (5), Own budget (2), Tech company (Google/GNI) (2)

Notable cases

2023WAM (Emirates News Agency)

AI-powered website features: AI-generated audio news bulletins in podcast format; AI avatar announcer presenting a visual news bulletin twice daily; AI-powered interactive search across news, reports and investigations; also developed two interactive AI media literacy platforms: ""Make a News Story at WAM"" (users create articles with AI templates) and ""Fake News and WAM's Credibility"" (AI generates realistic…

Audience Experience & Personalisation3 – Proficiency
AI text-to-speech"; AI avatar/digital presenter; AI-powered search;" ChatGPT-based interacSource →

2023Sky News Arabia

Studio broadcast automation using Vizrt Viz Mosart: full integration of newsroom control (Avid iNews), vision mixer (Grass Valley Kayenne), playout server (Avid FastServe), video router and graphics management (Vizrt Graphic Hub and Viz Pilot); automates live production elements including camera calls

Multimedia & Visual Production2 – Adoption
graphics and rundowns, reducing need for manual technical directorsSource →

2025Dubai Media Incorporated

AI in Arab Media" strategic initiative: published white paper on AI status in Arab media; launched journalist training programme on generative AI tools (Google Gemini, NotebookLM) in partnership with Google News Initiative; roadshow across Arab newsrooms

AI Ethics & Editorial Policy3 – Proficiency
Google Gemini, NotebookLM; Dubai Media Academy curriculumSource →

2019Abu Dhabi Media

World's first Arabic-speaking AI news anchor: synthesized lip movement, facial expressions and natural speech reading bulletins in Arabic and English on ADM channels; announced as first Arabic AI anchor globally

AI Avatars / Synthetic Presenters2 – Adoption
Sogou AI news anchor system (speech synthesis, deep learningSource →

2023Sharjah Media City

AI news presenter deployed as emergency substitute when human news presenter was late;" demonstrates practical use of AI avatars to solve immediate operational problems in live broadcast environments

Content Production & Automation2 – Adoption
AI virtual presenter / synthetic mediaSource →

2020The National

Voice in the Middle East" — AI text-to-audio service delivering real-time English and Arabic news bulletins for website and podcast distribution; GNI Middle East Innovation Challenge grantee

Multimedia & Visual Production2 – Adoption
AI text-to-speech / audio generation (vendor undisclosed)Source →

Elsewhere in Middle East and North Africa

Algeria 2Bahrain 1Egypt 11Iran 4Israel 3Jordan 7Kuwait 6Lebanon 6Malta 3Morocco 3Oman 4Palestine 1
Data from J·Index, the Journalism AI Index — every case verified against a published source. See the methodological note for how cases are collected and coded. Updated 2026-07-23.