Vietnam, Indonesia lead SE Asia in AI adoption in e-commerce: Lazada

The report, measuring the AI-readiness level in the online business sector, was released on Wednesday in collaboration with UK-based Kantar, a global firm in marketing data and analytics.

The study surveyed 1,214 e-commerce merchants across six countries—Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, and Vietnam. It revealed that Vietnam and Indonesia, each with an AI adoption rate of 42 percent, have surpassed Singapore and Thailand, both at 39 percent, in leveraging AI for business functions.

In Vietnam, AI is most commonly applied in customer service, marketing, and communications, while adoption in human resources, operations, and logistics remains limited.

The report indicates that nearly seven in ten (68 percent) online sellers in Southeast Asia claim to understand AI.

In Vietnam, that number climbs to 77 percent, exceeding the regional average. However, many online sellers face challenges in evaluating AI’s effectiveness and understanding its cost implications. While 89 percent recognize AI’s role in enhancing work efficiency, nearly two-thirds (61 percent) remain skeptical about its overall usefulness.

Additionally, nearly all sellers (93 percent) agree that AI can deliver long-term cost savings. Yet 64 percent express concern over the expenses and time required for implementation, viewing these as barriers to adoption.

In contrast, Vietnamese sellers generally hold a more positive view of AI’s benefits, with 94 percent citing productivity improvements and only 35 percent expressing concern over time and cost.

The report categorizes sellers into three groups based on their level of AI adoption across five areas: operations and logistics, product management, marketing and advertising, customer service, and human resource management.

The first group, AI Adepts, consists of sellers who have integrated AI into at least 80 percent of their business activities. In Vietnam, 22 percent of sellers fall into this category, compared to 24 percent regionally.

The second, AI Aspirants, includes those who have partially adopted AI but still face significant gaps in key business areas. This segment makes up 64 percent of sellers in Vietnam, higher than the regional average of 50 percent.

The final, AI Agnostics, represents sellers who remain cautious about AI adoption, accounting for 14 percent in Vietnam, compared to 26 percent across the region.