Adoption of Artificial Intelligence on the rise in ASEAN

At 17.1%, Thailand AI adoption rate is second-highest in the region, but talent shortage persists






Despite the rise in adoption, organizations in the region are trailing behind those in North Asian countries, in terms of making AI a strategic agenda. For example, more than 80% of companies in China and South Korea believe AI capabilities will be critical for organizations' success and competitiveness in the coming years, compared to less than 40% of companies in Singapore and Malaysia.


While the overall adoption in Southeast Asia falls behind Asia/Pacific (excluding Japan), there are signs to suggest organizations in the region will catch up quickly. For example, 40% of organizations in Thailand have incorporated or would like to incorporate AI in their ERP systems, indicating a sizable demand to have AI to guide and optimize operations.



Thailand companies must find leverage to alleviate the impact of AI talent shortage

With 17.1% organizations having adopted AI in some form, the technology is making headway in Thailand. Organizations in the public sector, healthcare and retail are among the early adopters. Retail companies, especially those having partnerships with China investors, are aiming to revamp consumer experience through face and image recognition.

In terms of use cases, Threat/anomaly Detections and Automated Quality Inspections were more common in Thailand as compared to other countries in Thailand. Successful implementation of these use cases will help strengthen the country's core industries such as manufacturing.

However, Thailand also has the largest percentage of organizations reporting that skills shortage is the top barrier to adoption. Coupled with the fact that 80% of organizations in the country deem AI capabilities critical for their organizations' future competitiveness, the highest in ASEAN, it is clear there is a mismatch between the perceived urgency of AI adoption and the available means to address it. The imperative is to find proper leverages, tools and platforms to alleviate the impact of talent shortage.

"AI and analytics empower people and are the drivers of organizational success. It is great to see that so many organizations in Thailand are cognizant of the enhanced productivity and efficiency that embracing AI can bring" said Nutapone Apiluktoyanunt, Managing Director, SAS Thailand. However, the skills shortage is a very real challenge and one that demands action. It is vital for Thai businesses and public sector organizations to partner together to develop the right data analytics skillsets and make analytics accessible to all."


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Editorial contacts:

SAS Asia Pacific
Shu Ling Chan
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