UAE AI Office and Microsoft launch UAE Vibe Codes, a nationwide programme for building apps with AI.
The UAE Artificial Intelligence Office has launched UAE Vibe Codes, a nationwide programme developed with Microsoft that lets people build websites and app prototypes by describing their ideas in plain language. It went live on 29 October as part of UAE Codes Day.
Some 5,000 people took part within the first hour, according to the state news agency WAM. Users type what they want into the UAE Vibe Codes platform and AI tools turn the instructions into a working prototype, with no coding needed. The programme is open to anyone in the UAE, from students and teachers to founders, small business owners and staff in government and private companies. Suggested projects include sites that solve a workplace problem, daily task organisers, tools for startups and educational apps.
The AI Office is also running hands-on workshops with Google, Emirates Global Aluminium (EGA), Siemens and IBM, where participants bring an idea or challenge and leave with a first prototype. Emaar and cinemas across the country are promoting the programme on their digital screens and platforms. Organisations taking part in Codes Day include the Ministry of Education, the Ministry of Justice, the UAE Space Agency, Dubai's Roads and Transport Authority, Etisalat, du, Emirates Health Services and Emirates NBD. Omar Sultan Al Olama, Minister of State for Artificial Intelligence, said the aim is to make advanced technology more accessible and widen public involvement in the country's digital future.
UAE Codes Day was made an annual observance in 2021 on the instruction of Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, and marks the launch of the region's first e-government initiative on 29 October 2001. UNESCO adopted the date as the International Day of Programming in 2023. Neither Campaign Middle East nor the reports of WAM's announcement say which AI models power the platform, what Microsoft's role covers beyond co-development, or how long the programme will run.
For marketers in the UAE and the wider Gulf, the programme puts no-code AI building in front of a broad public audience, which means more clients, in-house teams and small businesses able to mock up a landing page or simple tool before briefing an agency. Using Emaar's screens and cinema advertising to drive sign-ups also shows government bodies treating retail and entertainment media as a channel for technology adoption.
Why it matters
A state-backed push to teach the whole UAE public to build sites and tools with AI widens the pool of clients and staff who can prototype before briefing an agency.
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