Earlier this week Amazon's virtual assistant was also integrated by Dubai's water and power authority into its infrastructure.

Everything from shopping to working, playing and paying bills has gone online during the pandemic, and even as world opens up again in the new normal, hybrid models are expected to take over where people will continue to enjoy convenience of digital services instead of stepping out for mundane tasks. Banking is included in such everyday activities, which will probably find a higher number of online clients as no one really enjoys spending time waiting in queues, before explaining their issues at counters.

Most government agencies in the UAE are going digital, and like their peers in the private sector, these public bodies are also relying on AI to address queries of residents, along with robots present at service locations to assist customers. Days after Dubai's water and power authority brought Amazon's virtual assistant Alexa on board to enhance its smart services, the city's biggest bank owned by the regime has now rolled out voice banking that uses the same solution, in order to deliver seamless online transactions along with swift resolution of queries.

Launched by Emirates NBD, the interactive banking mechanism will use simple language for responding to people in both English and Arabic, once customers activate the feature through the Alexa app on their smartphones. Apart from carrying out daily transactions simply by speaking to the virtual assistant and clearing doubts about e-banking procedures, clients can also listen to daily market briefings from Alexa.

The move comes shortly after Alexa was launched in Arabic to serve users in the Middle East, and the service is similar to voice assistance developed by organisations like DEWA, Dubai Digital and telecom giant Du.

Apart from robotic employees, the UAE also has smart police stations and virtual clinics, where people are able to interact with cops or doctors for remote services. As for the private sector, AI chatbots are equipped with the ability to understand an individual's specific issues for personalised service.