Artificial intelligence is quietly reshaping how people in the UAE shop, and the country’s residents are among the quickest in the world to embrace it. That is the central picture emerging from YouGov’s report, “The bots and the basket: AI’s role in Dubai Shopping Festival 2026,” which examines how shoppers in the UAE plan to spend during the festival and how AI is changing the way they hunt for a deal.
For ordinary consumers, the findings carry real weight. The UAE ranks third out of 19 markets surveyed on AI shopping adoption, placing it well ahead of Western Europe and North America. In practical terms, a large share of the people browsing this year’s festival offers are doing so with AI tools already woven into their routines, whether they are comparing prices, searching for promotions, or deciding where their money goes.
The report also points to a generational divide with direct consequences for household budgets during the festival. Among likely Dubai Shopping Festival shoppers, 32% of Gen Z and Millennials expect to spend more than they did last year. Older groups are moving in the opposite direction: Gen X and Baby Boomers+ are readier to cut back. For families and individuals weighing their spending at a time when the festival is a fixture of the retail calendar, that split suggests two very different experiences of the same event, with younger shoppers leaning into higher outlays and older ones tightening their belts.
Dubai Shopping Festival itself matters to the public because it shapes when and how residents spend, and the report treats it as a lens on wider consumer behavior. YouGov’s analysis looks at who is shopping the festival and how much more or less they plan to spend, alongside the biggest challenges DSF shoppers face. Those challenges are not abstract. They describe the friction points ordinary people encounter when trying to find genuine value during a major shopping season.
Meanwhile, the comparison with other markets carries its own public relevance. By mapping how the UAE stacks up against other countries on AI shopping, the report gives residents a sense of where they stand globally, and the answer is near the top. Adoption that outpaces Western Europe and North America signals that AI-assisted shopping is not a niche habit in the Emirates but a mainstream one.
Generational patterns run through the analysis in more detail as well. The report examines how AI use differs by generation, which AI tools shoppers expect to use, and what shoppers are comfortable letting AI do. These questions speak directly to consumer autonomy. As more of the shopping journey is mediated by automated tools, what people are willing to delegate, and to whom or to what, becomes a matter of everyday trust.
The report also addresses the other side of that trust. It looks at what worries shoppers about AI and what would reassure them. For consumers, those concerns and reassurances define the terms on which AI becomes part of routine purchasing decisions. For the companies and platforms that serve the public during the festival, the findings amount to a read on what people need in order to feel confident using these tools.
Taken together, the report offers a full picture of AI’s role in Dubai Shopping Festival 2026, from spending intentions across generations to the tools, comforts, and concerns that shape how residents shop. YouGov notes that readers can download the report to explore the data in full. For UAE residents, the takeaway is straightforward: the festival season is arriving at a moment when AI is already part of the basket, and the habits forming now, among the young most of all, are likely to define how the country shops in the years ahead.