Southeast Asia’s small businesses are betting big on AI — but costs hold them back
The $120 billion AI boom in Southeast Asia by 2027 is real, but mostly for larger players. Small businesses here are adopting generative AI, but cautiously because of expenses.
Boston Consulting Group projects AI will redefine business and open new revenue streams across ASEAN’s top economies. Google’s e-Conomy SEA 2024 report ranks Singapore, the Philippines, and Malaysia among the top 10 worldwide for AI interest. 
Young business owners in Vietnam, Malaysia, and the Philippines are driving this curiosity. Soumik Parida of RMIT Vietnam says,
"the future is bright because … it’s a very young population, is a very internet-savvy population."
Customer service and marketing lead AI use, per Lazada and Kantar data. McKinsey backs that, noting 63% of genAI adopters use it mainly for text generation.
Indonesia’s Lita Global reports major gains using OpenAI models—doubling gaming events and boosting weekly revenues by 20%. AI translates event notices into Vietnamese and Thai, reaching more users. It also recommends chat replies, increasing gamer-for-hire orders by 10-20%.
Another trend: AI livestreaming for e-commerce. TopviewAI offers this at around $1 per minute, helping small sellers run cost-effective live shopping without human hosts. CEO Jensen Wu calls it a "pretty good" ROI.
But AI adoption hits a wall. Costs keep small businesses sticking to basic uses like chatbots. Parida explains,
"Anything beyond that requires a lot of expense."
Lita Global spends ~$2,000 monthly on API tokens for OpenAI. Gartner predicts these API costs could drop to under 1% of today’s prices by 2027, making AI more affordable for smaller players.
NUS Business School’s Jochen Wirtz warns,
"Either you grow and adopt, or you die."
Low labor costs in Southeast Asia slow the efficiency push, but a tech-savvy young population keeps the excitement high. The region’s AI future is tied to how fast small businesses can get access to affordable tech.
