The World Governments Summit Organisation and Accenture launched a report on February 5, 2026 in Dubai that identified an experience paradox in which governments are deploying artificial intelligence primarily to accelerate outdated systems rather than redesigning them for citizen needs, potentially limiting improvements in public satisfaction. Titled “Getting to the Five-Star Review: How Governments Can Use AI to Build Trusted Service at Digital Speed,” the document introduced the Accenture AI Proactivity Index, which found that satisfaction stems from governments’ ability to predict needs, empower workers and maintain transparency instead of simply increasing technology volume. The underlying study surveyed 7,250 residents and 4,100 frontline government employees worldwide.
The report estimated that without a shift toward proactive, citizen-centered service models, AI investments by government entities will fall short of delivering meaningful gains in resident approval, according to the joint announcement from the summit organisation and the consulting firm. Andrew Vo, Accenture’s MEA Chief Transformation Officer and Head of Strategy & Consulting, said, “The goal of AI in government services is to make it intuitively human, not just operationally efficient.” Vo added that the highest five-star experiences arise from entities that advance beyond reactive automation to proactive prediction, delivering services before residents request them.
Nearly half of residents surveyed described digital government services as in need of improvement while the share of employees who feel empowered has declined from 87 percent three years ago to 73 percent today, the report stated. Only 35 percent of government entities offer structured upskilling programs for AI-enabled roles, and one-third of employees pointed to a lack of skilled talent as the chief barrier to better service delivery. The analysis forms part of the World Governments Summit’s ongoing series of strategic reports, with the 2026 edition described in summit materials as the largest yet.
To overcome the experience paradox the report outlined three strategic imperatives for governments, beginning with the adoption of AI to anticipate major life events such as births, marriages or retirements and to supply services before they are sought. It cited Estonia’s one-click service model and Singapore’s AI-driven OneService Chatbot as leading examples of this approach. The document noted that entities engaging frontline staff as co-designers of solutions record five times higher engagement and four times faster skill development.
Australia’s GovAI platform and Singapore’s Pair system were highlighted in the report as models that permit officials to experiment safely, treating employees as innovation partners rather than mere operators of new tools. The third imperative focused on rebuilding trust, after the survey found that only 47 percent of residents trust their governments to deploy AI responsibly. The report recommended creating public registers of algorithms to increase visibility into decision-making processes and strengthen accountability.
The UAE, Saudi Arabia and Singapore consistently ranked highest on the Accenture AI Proactivity Index, according to the study released at the summit. The World Governments Summit, established in 2013, convenes governments, international organisations, thought leaders and private-sector innovators to shape future governance models, its organising body has stated. Previous collaborations between the summit and Accenture have produced reports on topics including AI applications for climate action, building on more than 25 strategic documents typically issued during the annual event.
The report concluded that in the age of AI, responsiveness has become the new benchmark for government credibility, with true excellence measured by the effectiveness with which governments remove friction from citizens’ lives.
