Doha, Qatar: Boston Consulting Group’s (BCG) sixth biennial edition of its Digital Government Citizen Survey Report, titled “After a Decade of Digital Gains AI Is Reshaping Citizens’ Expectations in the GCC” highlights positive citizen perceptions of digital government services in Qatar, with 87% of respondents reporting satisfaction, providing a testament of positive advancement and a strong foundation for continued improvements in service delivery.
The findings reflect positive perceptions of digital government services, while highlighting opportunities to further enhance service quality, accessibility, and user experience.
The survey, conducted across 44 countries, highlights Qatar as one of the emerging digital & AI enabled nations globally, with government digital service usage at 40%. In addition, 68% of Qatar respondents rated their government digital service experience more positively than their typical private-sector interactions, reflecting favorable digital government experiences as a conducive baseline for further growth and improvement. The data spotlights residents’ rising receptiveness to AI, highlighting an opportunity for Qatar to build on its existing digital foundations by expanding automation and AI-enabled services to deliver more seamless, personalized, and efficient citizen experiences.
On the adoption front, 85% of Qatar respondents reported using AI weekly while 31% reported they’re comfortable with enabling AI for all government services. High levels of usage are accompanied by relatively positive attitudes toward AI in government, with 46% of Qatar respondents believing its benefits outweigh the risks, compared with 49% across the GCC and 36% globally. At the same time, greater exposure to AI is bringing a broader set of considerations into focus for citizens. While GCC citizens remain more optimistic about AI in government than their global peers, overall optimism has declined by 21% since 2024.
This evolution points toward a more hybrid model of service delivery. GCC citizens increasingly favor AI for simpler services while retaining human involvement for more complex interactions, which assures a shift that reflects greater awareness of both the opportunities and considerations associated with AI. At the same time, only around 4% of GCC respondents prefer human-only services with no AI support, compared with almost one in ten globally.
“Qatar has already cultivated the foundational trust and receptiveness, arguably the most critical prerequisite before scaling AI-driven experiences. The fact that many Qatar residents perceive government digital services positively provides an encouraging foundation for further improvement, with opportunities to enhance service quality and expand AI integration in ways that strengthen citizen confidence,” said Dr. Akram Awad (pictured), Managing Director & Partner at BCG. “The opportunity now lies in strategically deploying AI where it demonstrably enhances efficiency and personalization, while preserving human expertise for the complex, high-stakes interactions that residents still expect to be handled with judgment, empathy, and accountability.”
The BCG report also reveals strong appetite among GCC citizens for the next generation of AI-enabled government services. The region is the most AI-receptive globally, with 79% of citizens open to AI-centered government interactions, compared with 66% globally.
Notably, three of the four most strongly supported AI applications in government are agentic use cases, signaling a healthy launchpad for governments to explore services that can move beyond providing information to supporting or completing actions on citizens’ behalf.
“The GCC has a strong opportunity to translate its digital leadership into the next generation of AI-enabled government services,” said Haidar Ammar, Managing Director & Partner, BCG. “As citizens become more familiar with AI, building literacy and trust will be critical to sustained adoption."
"The priority is to expand AI and agentic capabilities where they add value, while preserving human judgment and responsible safeguards. For Qatar, the next phase is about moving beyond digital convenience toward AI-enabled services that anticipate citizens’ needs, simplify everyday interactions, and contribute to a better quality of life.”
