Microsoft: Vietnam Ranks Second in Southeast Asia for AI Adoption

The “Global AI Diffusion Q2 2026 Trends and Insights” report reveals that Vietnam’s generative AI adoption rate among the working-age population reached 27.9% in Q2 2026. This reflects a 1.4-percentage-point increase from 26.5% recorded in the preceding quarter.

With this performance, Vietnam secured the 33rd position globally in AI diffusion. Across Southeast Asia, the country ranks second, trailing only regional frontrunner Singapore, which placed second globally at 64.3%. Notably, Vietnam’s quarter-on-quarter expansion of 1.4 percentage points exceeded gains recorded in Malaysia (+0.8 points), the Philippines (+0.6 points), Indonesia (+0.7 points), and Thailand (+1.0 point).

The research groups Vietnam within the Global South, where average regional AI diffusion stood at 16.2% in Q2 2026. This metric remains noticeably below the 28.8% benchmark observed across developed Global North economies.

(Vietnam’s AI diffusion index rose by 1.4 percentage points compared to the first quarter of 2026. Photo: Microsoft)

Microsoft calculates the AI diffusion index by measuring the proportion of individuals aged 15 to 64 who utilized at least one generative AI solution during the reporting window. The dataset draws from aggregated, anonymized Microsoft telemetry, with adjustments accounting for operating system distributions, device market shares, nationwide internet penetration, and demographic scales across each market.

Divergence Across Global Tech Landscapes

Worldwide AI adoption continues an upward trajectory, though substantial disparities persist across economies. The United Arab Emirates led the global index at 73.3%, closely followed by Singapore at 64.3%. In Northeast Asia, South Korea posted an adoption rate of 40.6% after climbing 3.5 percentage points during the quarter, whereas Japan recorded 24.7%.

These variations largely reflect local market access conditions. Disparities stem from foundational digital infrastructure, connectivity, device availability, workforce digital literacy, and native tool readiness.

Developed markets generally demonstrate elevated adoption rates. In contrast, emerging markets continue to face infrastructure bottlenecks and uneven technology access.

Within developing economies, generative AI tools see extensive use in self-directed study, professional upskilling, and academic support. A predominantly youthful demographic profile serves as a primary driver of this trend.

Microsoft highlights that open-weight AI architectures—enabling enterprises to download, deploy, and fine-tune models locally—could reduce initial adoption overhead. Nevertheless, constraints around physical computing infrastructure, stable connectivity, and specialized technical expertise continue to influence rollouts across several territories.

Second-quarter data illustrates that Vietnam maintains higher user adoption than most regional peers monitored by Microsoft, backed by consistent growth momentum. However, the substantial spread between Vietnam (27.9%) and Singapore (64.3%) underscores significant untapped headroom for domestic AI deployment and enterprise commercialization.

(Source: vneconomy.vn)