ADCB puts AI at the core to execute its medium-term strategy
Abu Dhabi Commercial Bank (ADCB) has moved AI from pilot projects to the center of its operating model. The bank is rolling out an at-scale program aligned with its medium-term strategy announced on January 27, 2025-built to sharpen competitiveness, raise productivity, and deliver measurable financial outcomes.
The plan activates more than 150 AI use cases over the coming years, supported by scalable infrastructure, advanced cloud capabilities, and strong data foundations. Customers can expect faster decisions, proactive insights, hyper-personalized offers, and always-on intelligent support.
Leadership intent and targets
H.E. Khaldoon Khalifa Al Mubarak, Chairman of ADCB's Board of Directors, said Abu Dhabi's focus on AI is a "bold vision" that pushes ADCB to play a defining role in the UAE's economic future.
Group CEO Ala'a Eraiqat set a clear goal: make ADCB a fully AI-integrated institution, embed AI across 100% of processes, and realize over AED 4 billion in financial value over the next few years-positioning the bank as the AI leader in its sector.
Operating model built for scale
- Chief AI Officer appointed with a specialized execution team across all lines of business.
- Strategic partnerships with global AI leaders to integrate AI into daily decisions and delivery.
- Live AI platforms already in use by the Board, executive committees, and employees-signaling execution readiness.
- Clear commitment to responsible AI: safe, secure, and accountable adoption.
Why this matters for executives
- Signals a shift from experiments to enterprise-scale value creation, with board-level oversight and clear financial targets.
- Rewires how a bank operates: decision speed, risk precision, cost efficiency, and deeper customer relevance.
- Codifies AI as a system-data, models, tooling, governance, and delivery-rather than isolated initiatives.
- Creates an execution spine: talent, product squads, model lifecycle, and measurable outcomes.
Customer impact
- Faster credit and service decisions with higher consistency.
- Proactive, context-aware insights across channels.
- Personalized products priced and configured in near real time.
- Intelligent support available 24/7 with smooth handoffs to human teams.
How ADCB is structuring the AI rollout
- Prioritized use cases sequenced by value, feasibility, and risk.
- Shared platforms for data, features, model monitoring, and prompt management.
- Embedded compliance and model risk throughout the lifecycle.
- Change management built into delivery so teams adopt, not resist.
Playbook you can apply in your organization
- Define the value thesis: pick 5-10 use cases tied to P&L (growth, cost, risk) with owners and deadlines.
- Stand up cross-functional AI product squads that own outcomes, not just models.
- Build a governed feature store and event-driven data flows so models learn and improve continuously.
- Operationalize model governance: documentation, testing, drift alerts, and human-in-the-loop for high-stakes decisions.
- Instrument every use case with end-to-end metrics: adoption, latency, accuracy, unit economics, and ROI.
- Make security and privacy non-negotiable: data classification, red-teaming, and policy-backed access.
- Treat cloud spend like product investment: FinOps guardrails, cost per outcome, and performance budgets.
- Train leaders and frontline teams so AI is used daily, not parked in slide decks.
Governance and risk
- Assign clear decision rights across data, model risk, and production deployment.
- Audit prompts, datasets, and model versions for traceability.
- Bias and fairness testing aligned to policy and regulatory expectations.
What to watch next
- How quickly ADCB scales from 150 use cases to full process coverage.
- Impact on cost-to-income, risk-adjusted returns, and customer lifetime value.
- How partnerships and in-house capabilities evolve to keep pace with model advances.
Further reading
Upskill your leadership and delivery teams
If you're building a similar roadmap, align capability with ambition. Explore role-based programs and certifications that map to executive, data, and product functions.
ADCB has the foundations in place and momentum on execution. The focus now is scaling responsibly, measuring outcomes, and turning AI into day-to-day advantage.
Your membership also unlocks:
