Dubai's AI Seal: What Government Teams Need to Do Now
Dubai's Department of Finance has reminded government entities to contract only with companies certified under the Dubai AI Seal. The seal was launched by the Dubai Centre for Artificial Intelligence under the Dubai Future Foundation to raise the quality and reliability of AI services across the emirate.
In short: if you're buying AI services or consultancy, your vendors should hold a valid Dubai AI Seal. This is now a procurement expectation, not a nice-to-have.
What the AI Seal Covers
The programme offers six tiers - E, D, C, B, A and S - with S indicating the highest impact on Dubai's AI economy. Seals are awarded to companies with proven and verified activities in Dubai across AI consulting, development, infrastructure, integration, and ancillary services.
Dubai government buyers are expected to require the seal from AI sellers. Vendors with seals are also more competitive for government AI projects. Learn more from the Dubai Future Foundation.
Why This Matters for Public Procurement
AI marketing has become noisy. Many products claim advanced capabilities that don't match reality. Some have been exposed for using manual labour behind the scenes while advertising "AI" features.
The seal helps filter out inflated claims and protect public funds from AI washing. It creates a shared standard between agencies and vendors, and it sets clear expectations for accountability, performance, and compliance.
Immediate Steps for Government Buyers
- Update vendor prequalification: Require the Dubai AI Seal (specify accepted tiers by risk and impact).
- Align RFP language: Reference the seal in eligibility criteria and technical evaluation. Map seal categories to your scope (consulting, integration, etc.).
- Strengthen due diligence: Ask for proof of seal validity, audited model documentation, and deployment references inside Dubai.
- Add performance guardrails: SLAs for model accuracy, uptime, response times, and human-in-the-loop escalation paths.
- Data safeguards: Clear data residency, retention, and deletion terms. Prohibit training on government data without written approval.
- Security and compliance: Require secure development practices, vulnerability reporting, and adherence to applicable UAE policies.
- Evaluation protocols: Run a pilot with test datasets, bias checks, red-team scenarios, and rollback plans.
- Contract levers: Include audit rights, change-control on model updates, incident reporting timelines, and penalties for material misrepresentation.
- Ethical use: Document intended use, decision boundaries, and mandatory disclosure where automated decisions affect citizens.
- Governance: Nominate an AI procurement lead, define review cadences, and maintain a central register of approved AI suppliers and systems.
How to Match Seal Tiers to Risk
Use higher-tier seals for higher-impact use cases. For pilots and low-risk automation, lower tiers may be acceptable. For citizen-facing or mission-critical systems, require A or S, plus stronger SLAs and oversight.
Ask vendors to justify their tier against your use case. If there's a gap, document compensating controls or request an upgrade path.
Tracking Outcomes That Matter
- Procurement: Time-to-award, percentage of awards to sealed vendors, and compliance exceptions.
- Performance: Model accuracy, incident counts, and remediation time.
- Value: Cost avoided, time saved, and measurable service improvements to the public.
- Risk: Security findings, data incidents, and audit results.
Context and Caution
Recent cases show why this guardrail is needed: some products marketed as "AI" turn out to rely on hidden manual processes, or deliver far less than promised. The AI Seal is a practical filter to reduce that risk before public money is committed.
As Mohammed Soliman of the Middle East Institute put it, the idea is right - consistency is what will make it work. If certification turns into a box-tick, the benefits fade. Hold vendors - and your internal processes - to the same standard.
Bottom Line
Require the Dubai AI Seal. Tie seal tiers to risk. Test before you scale. Write contracts that anticipate change. And keep a living register of what's deployed and how it's performing. That's how public agencies get real value from AI without the noise.
If your team needs upskilling to evaluate AI vendors or draft stronger AI RFPs, explore role-based options here: Complete AI Training - Courses by Job.
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