International Cooperation & Benchmarking · 2026-10-21 · 01:31

Singapore leading Southeast Asia in AI use and adoption: Report

Speaker
CNA
CNA report
Type
Industry Leader
Source
CNA

In Brief

A Google, Temasek, and Bain report places Singapore first in Southeast Asia for AI adoption. About 70% of its working population uses AI. Usage intensity is nearly six times the regional average.

Why it matters About 70% of the working population uses AI, with usage intensity nearly six times the regional average. Singapore must assess whether adoption increases productivity.

Readable transcript

Caption language: en · Fetched: 2026-10-22

Singapore is leading Southeast Asia in AI use and adoption, according to a new report by Google, state investor Temasek, and consulting firm Bain& Company. The report says about seven in 10 in Singapore's working population use AI. Usage is also more intense here and nearly six times the regional average. Across the region, AI use is forecast to climb by up to 60 times by 2030. It's expected to boost the digital economy through better product discovery as a key tool in online ads and by enhancing user experience with AI agents. >> It comes off consumer trust. So, we need uh consumers to be ready to embrace this, employees to be ready to embrace this. Uh we have to have the right economic conditions in place. So, we have to continue seeing in front costs go down for AI.

We have to have the right infrastructure in place to support this AI use. Uh and that ultimately drives the economic unlock with AI um to help drive uplift for um economic activity in the digital economy. >> For Singapore, its digital economy is expected to grow to 39. 6 billion Singapore dollars this year. It's driven by online media and mobility and food. It's estimated to reach 75. 3 billion Singapore dollars by 2035 with e-commerce set to see the greatest growth. Across Southeast Asia, that figure is projected to surpass 1. 2 trillion Singapore dollars by 2035.

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Singapore AI Observatory. Singapore leading Southeast Asia in AI use and adoption: Report. Retrieved 2026-10-22, https://sgai.md/videos/v124/

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