At Dubai AI Week 2025, Sergej Loiter, CEO of Search, AI, and AdTech at Yango Group, shares how the company is building human-like AI assistants, revolutionising delivery logistics, and transforming advertising—while offering insights for governments adopting AI for citizen services.
Artificial intelligence is no longer a distant promise—it’s a defining force of today. From localised content to autonomous delivery and public sector transformation, AI is reshaping how communities live, work, and connect. Speaking at Dubai AI Week 2025, Sergej Loiter, CEO of Search, AI, and AdTech at Yango Group, highlighted the profound shifts being driven by AI across various verticals and what governments and enterprises must consider moving forward.
AI Across Industries: Tailored, Not Generic
“AI is now central to how industries operate, innovate, and serve people,” said Loiter. A recent statistic underscores this: 82 per cent of business leaders in the UAE report that AI already impacts their organisation’s achievements. The real breakthrough, however, lies in AI’s adaptability—it no longer applies a one-size-fits-all model but instead aligns with the nuances of each sector.
Take media and entertainment, for example. Here, Yango’s AI isn’t just smart; it’s culturally fluent. Yasmina, Yango’s bilingual, human-like AI assistant, exemplifies this approach. Trained extensively on Khaleeji content and refined by Arabic-speaking experts—including local comedians—Yasmina can help with daily tasks like making Arabic coffee or explaining scientific phenomena like cloud seeding. She also offers bedtime stories in Arabic and English, prayer time reminders, and even featured over 30 new Quran reciter voices during Ramadan 2025. Yasmina reflects the rhythm of Middle Eastern life, evolving through continuous training to stay relevant and human-like.
AI on the Move: Smarter Last-Mile Delivery
Yango Group is also reimagining urban mobility through AI. The company’s autonomous delivery robots—recently launched in Dubai through a partnership with ROOTS—showcase the power of AI in real-world logistics. These electric-powered robots navigate complex city environments using AI-driven systems, ensuring safe, contactless deliveries within a two-kilometre radius in under 30 minutes.
Beyond convenience, the robots contribute meaningfully to sustainability. They align with Dubai’s Autonomous Transportation Strategy, which aims to make 25 per cent of all transportation autonomous by 2030 and cut CO₂ emissions by 30 per cent. This is AI meeting urban resilience—head-on.
The AI Revolution in AdTech
With a background in advertising, Loiter spoke passionately about how AI is redefining the advertising landscape. “Even a decade ago, we were already leveraging AI to improve ad targeting and recommendations,” he recalled. Today, that transformation runs deeper: AI can now generate entire ad campaigns, including all visual materials, within minutes.
It also plays a key role in ad moderation and fraud detection. Still, Loiter cautioned that AI hasn’t yet matched the human capacity for understanding cultural nuances and emotional context—essential ingredients for effective storytelling. “Humans remain crucial in selecting the right channels and crafting messages that resonate locally,” he added.
AI for Public Good: What Governments Need to Know
As AI moves into citizen-facing services, the role of governments becomes critical. Loiter applauded the UAE’s visionary approach through its National Strategy for Artificial Intelligence 2031, describing it as both structured and forward-looking.
Rather than taking a rigid regulatory stance, the UAE is enabling gradual, thoughtful AI integration that prioritises transparency, inclusivity, privacy, and public trust. “Trying to view AI only through a regulatory lens misses its evolving nature,” Loiter said. “With the right ethical frameworks and open collaboration, AI can become a powerful complement to human-led services.”
The Future Is Human-Centric, AI-Driven
From homes to highways, from prayer reminders to package deliveries, Yango Group’s innovations reflect a world increasingly shaped by intelligent, context-aware systems. But as Loiter reminded the Dubai AI Week audience, the goal isn’t just smarter technology—it’s better lives.
In a region already leading the global AI race, the conversation now moves beyond hype to meaningful, human-centric progress. The future, it seems, is not just artificial intelligence—it’s adaptive, authentic, and deeply aligned with the human experience.
