High-impact decision

In plain English

The Central Bank of the UAE's 2026 guidance defines a high-impact decision as any determination by an institution using AI that materially affects a customer's access to financial products or services, with a loan application or an insurance claim as examples.

Decisions like these call for more care: clear disclosure that AI is involved, meaningful human oversight, an explanation the customer can understand, a way to ask for human review, and a route to complain.

Why it matters to a board

These are the decisions most likely to harm customers if they go wrong, and most likely to attract complaints and supervisory attention.

Common mistakes

• Counting only fully automated decisions and missing those where AI recommends and a person simply approves.
• No documented decision on how much human involvement is needed.
• No way for a customer to challenge the outcome.

What the standards and regulators say

• Central Bank of the UAE: Guidance Note on Consumer Protection and Responsible Adoption and Use of Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning (11 February 2026)

Related terms

• Human in the loop, on the loop and out of the loop
• AI governance
• AI inventory

Sources last checked: 5 October 2026. General information, not legal, regulatory or professional advice. Requirements change, so confirm the current text before relying on any point. Spotted an error? Tell us.