AI in Lebanon (2026): Minister, the One Million Lebanese AI Experts Initiative, Learning, Tools and Lebanese AI Products

AI in Lebanon (the country) moved from talk to policy in 2025 and 2026. Lebanon appointed its first Minister of State for Technology and Artificial Intelligence in February 2025, and on 25 September 2026 the UAE and Lebanon launched the One Million Lebanese AI Experts initiative. This hub covers the national context, where to learn, which tools work from Lebanon, AI products built here, and what it all means for jobs. Every external fact links to its source.

What is the state of AI in Lebanon in 2026?

Lebanon is betting on mass AI skills as an economic lever, led by a dedicated minister. Kamal Shehadi has served as Minister of State for Technology and Artificial Intelligence, alongside the Minister of Displaced Persons portfolio, since 8 February 2025 (Wikipedia).

The key numbers and statements on record:

• Adoption. Shehadi said Lebanon is "fifth in the region in terms of AI adoption at 27 percent of the population" (Arab News, 1 October 2026).
• Ministry training. The ministry runs a specialized training program through universities, NGOs and municipalities, each course ending with a certificate, and thousands of Lebanese have signed up (Arab News).
• Earlier programs. Shehadi announced that 2,500 residents took part in an AI training program organised by ZAKA, an online education platform (The National, 21 September 2026).
• Ambition. Shehadi has said Lebanon aims to become "the nation that masters AI faster than any other" (The National).

Our read at Torch99: the policy layer is real and moving fast. The gap is between training and application. Knowing how to prompt is the floor. Turning AI into revenue, saved hours and better decisions inside a Lebanese business, with Lebanese constraints, is the work.

What is the "One Million Lebanese AI Experts" initiative?

It is a UAE and Lebanon program, launched on 25 September 2026, to give one million people in Lebanon practical skills in generative AI and prompt engineering. It was announced by Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed, UAE Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs, and Lebanese Prime Minister Nawaf Salam on the sidelines of the 81st UN General Assembly in New York (UAE Ministry of Foreign Affairs, The National).

What is confirmed:

Detail	What the sources say
Framework	The UAE's Government Experience Exchange Programme, in cooperation with the Government of Lebanon (MOFA)
Content	Generative AI and prompt engineering, including how to write instructions that guide AI tools to accurate results (The National)
Audience	Open to all segments of Lebanese society, regardless of age, background or role (MOFA)
Lebanese targets	First target of 1.1 million people, then at least 50 percent of the population within a couple of years (Arab News)
Two tiers	A million "prompters" who use AI tools, and an estimated 15,000 to 20,000 "builders" who develop digital services (Arab News)

How to join: none of the official announcements we reviewed published a registration process as of 29 October 2026. Follow the Lebanese government's and the UAE Ministry of Foreign Affairs' official channels, and be wary of unofficial sign-up pages.

What "expert" means here: someone who applies AI well at work, not an engineer. That is the right definition. If you want to go past the basics, see Learn AI in Lebanon, or read what an applied AI expert looks like in practice on AI expert in Lebanon.

Where can you learn AI in Lebanon?

Start free, then pay for structure or a mentor. The options, at a glance:

Route	Example	Fits
National program	One Million Lebanese AI Experts	Everyone, as a first step
Free self-study	Elements of AI (University of Helsinki and MinnaLearn)	Beginners who want the concepts
Bootcamp	ZAKA	Career changers who want hands-on technical skills
University degree	LAU online MS in Applied AI, USJ Master in AI	Future engineers and researchers
1:1 mentoring	Liwaa Beaini via Tomohi	Founders, marketers and professionals applying AI to their own work

Full comparison and booking details: Learn AI in Lebanon.

Which AI tools work in Lebanon, and how do you pay?

The major assistants list Lebanon as supported; payment is the real barrier. Lebanon appears on OpenAI's supported countries list, Anthropic's supported countries list for Claude, and Google's Gemini app availability list, which also lists Arabic as a supported language.

Access is not the issue. Paying is. Paid plans need a card that clears international online payments, and that is where Lebanese users get stuck. We keep a dated, practical guide: how to pay for AI subscriptions from Lebanon.

What AI products are built in Lebanon?

Lebanese founders ship AI products for global markets. We list the ones we can vouch for first-hand, built by Torch99:

• 99Visibility: a Generative Engine Optimization platform that audits how ChatGPT, Google AI Overviews, Gemini, Perplexity and Claude describe a brand, detects hallucinations and prescribes fixes. Live.
• Track Macro: an AI macro tracker for iPhone that logs meals by photo or text and shows around 30 nutrients per food, synced with Apple Health. Launching.
• Chouf Portal: an AI news pipeline for Lebanon's Chouf region that scrapes, summarizes and delivers local news over WhatsApp. MVP.

We will add other Lebanese AI companies only once we can verify them and link sources. Building from here has its own rules: power, payments, banking. Read building an AI business from Lebanon, and see more Lebanese builds on the portfolio.

What about AI jobs and careers in Lebanon?

In the short term AI is not a direct threat to Lebanese jobs; in the medium to long term every job will be affected. That is the minister's own framing: no immediate threat, but "in the medium to long term, yes, all jobs will be affected," with employers favouring people skilled in AI (Arab News).

Practical pointers:

1. Pick your tier. Prompter (use AI inside your current job) or builder (make AI products and services). Both pay; builders are scarcer.
2. Build proof, not certificates. One automation that saves your team ten hours beats three course badges.
3. Use the bilingual edge. Arabic and English fluency, applied to AI workflows, is valuable to regional employers and clients.
4. Learn how AI search works. Brands now need to be found by AI assistants. Start with GEO, AEO and GEO vs SEO.

Our position on where this is all going: the AI era manifesto. If you are considering consulting as a career, read AI consultant in Lebanon.

How do Lebanese businesses show up in AI answers?

By making your brand easy for AI models to find, trust and quote. That is Generative Engine Optimization (GEO) and Answer Engine Optimization (AEO). First, check whether AI mentions your brand. Then fix the gaps: GEO and AI visibility for AI answers, SEO in Lebanon for Google.

Where can a Lebanese business get help applying AI?

Torch99 works with Lebanese and regional businesses on:

• AI strategy and automation
• GEO and AI visibility
• SEO in Lebanon
• App Store Optimization
• Growth and funnels
• Branding and websites
• Ecommerce

All offers: services. Who is behind them: about Torch99 and Liwaa Beaini, AI expert in Lebanon. Talk to us: contact.

How current is this page?

Last updated 29 October 2026. We revise it when official details change, especially on the One Million Lebanese AI Experts initiative. If you see something outdated, tell us via the contact page.