The figure rose 1.4% from 26.5% in the first quarter, placing Vietnam 33rd among the 147 economies covered by Microsoft’s Global AI Diffusion Report.

Singapore led Southeast Asia with an AI diffusion rate of 64.3%, ranking second globally behind the United Arab Emirates at 73.3%. Vietnam’s rate was higher than those recorded in Malaysia at 22.6%, the Philippines at 20.7%, Indonesia at 14.8% and Thailand at 13.4%.

Vietnam also recorded a larger quarterly increase than those four Southeast Asian economies, with its rate rising by 1.4% in the second quarter. Malaysia, Thailand, Indonesia and the Philippines posted increases of 0.8, 1.0, 0.7 and 0.6%, respectively.

Globally, 18.8% of the working-age population used generative AI in Q II, up about 1% from Q I. Microsoft said AI diffusion increased across almost every economy covered by the report.

Vietnam’s 27.9% rate was well above the 16.2% average for the Global South, the group in which Microsoft classifies Vietnam, and was close to the 28.8% average for the Global North. The gap between the two groups widened to 12.6% Q II, from 12.1% in Q I.

Microsoft said differences in digital infrastructure, internet connectivity, access to devices and digital skills can contribute to variations in AI diffusion across markets.

The report also found differences in how generative AI is being used across the two groups. In the Global South, AI is used relatively more for self-directed learning, skills development and educational support, with younger populations contributing to this pattern. Users in the Global North, meanwhile, tend to use AI more for consumer activities such as shopping, information searches and seeking feedback.

In the Global South, generating and editing text, code and images also account for relatively significant shares of AI use.

Microsoft defines AI diffusion as the share of people aged 15 to 64 who used a generative AI product during the reporting period. The measure is based on aggregated and anonymised Microsoft telemetry data and is adjusted to account for differences in operating-system and device-market share, internet penetration and population size.

The data therefore measure the use of generative AI products rather than overall AI deployment across an economy, including corporate or government systems that may not be captured by Microsoft’s telemetry.

Expert: AI opens opportunities for Vietnam to narrow development gap

VOV.VN - Dr. Duong Cam Vinh believes that attracting intellectual talent, especially in AI, requires practical problems to solve, flexible participation mechanisms, and major projects capable of gathering top minds.