e-Conomy SEA Report Puts the Philippines Last Among Six Major Southeast Asian Economies in GenAI Use

The Philippines trails its regional peers in generative AI adoption and has the lowest internet penetration rate among the six major Southeast Asian economies, according to the latest e-Conomy SEA report by Google, Bain & Co. and Singapore state investor Temasek, BusinessWorld reported on October 21.

The report found that 53% of the Philippine working population uses standalone GenAI platforms, the lowest of the six. Indonesia stands at 54%, Thailand at 63%, Vietnam at 65%, Malaysia at 68% and Singapore at 70%, against a regional average of 58%. Philippine internet penetration is 70%, compared with more than 90% in Malaysia, Singapore and Thailand, 87% in Vietnam and 81% in Indonesia.

Use in the Philippines is overwhelmingly personal: consumers account for 80% to 85% of AI adoption and enterprises for the remaining 15% to 20%, while in more mature markets such as Singapore and Malaysia enterprise use makes up the bulk. Across the region, trust in AI rose to 62%, and the report expects Southeast Asian users to use AI up to 60 times more by 2030, particularly for more complex tasks.

What it means in practice

e-Conomy SEA Report Puts the Philippines Last Among Six Major Southeast Asian Economies in GenAI Use — contextual photo

John Paolo Rivera, a senior research fellow at the Philippine Institute for Development Studies, told BusinessWorld the low adoption reflects gaps in digital infrastructure. Ronald Gustilo of Digital Pinoys pointed to affordability, accessibility and digital literacy, noting that advanced features often require paid subscriptions, and said fears linking AI with cheating, deepfakes and job loss should be addressed through education, transparency and stronger safeguards rather than dismissed.

The findings sharpen debates this portal has followed. An AWS study found rising business adoption alongside persistent skills gaps, Google has launched a free AI educator series with DepEd, CHED and TESDA, and the DICT’s AI infrastructure masterplan raises the question of whether new compute will reach people who are not yet online.

What to watch: whether the DICT and telecom operators can lift internet penetration fast enough to move these numbers, whether enterprise use grows beyond consumer chat tools, and how next year’s e-Conomy SEA report ranks the country.