Though Thailand has a high adoption rate for artificial intelligence (AI), the country’s global competitiveness and economic growth are threatened because 47% of businesses cite a lack of digital skills as the main barrier to expanding AI use, according to Amazon Web Services (AWS) research.
More than 600,000 businesses in Thailand report use of AI, yet only 16% of AI-adopting large enterprises are harnessing the technology to innovate new AI-driven products or services, compared with 40% of AI-adopting startups, reflecting a “two-tier AI economy”, noted the research.
The report “Unlocking Thailand’s AI Potential” was conducted in collaboration with Strand Partners, using an AI adoption survey in Thailand with participation from 1,000 business leaders and 1,000 nationally representative members.
Recent research by the Telecoms Advisory Service, commissioned by AWS, found cloud and AI added more than US$3.3 billion to Thailand’s GDP in 2023.
Cloud services are set to add $2.8 trillion to Asia-Pacific regional GDP by 2030, with nearly $203 billion alone coming from cloud-enabled AI, according to the research.
“AI adoption is gaining momentum. In Thailand, 150,000 businesses adopted AI solutions in 2024 — nearly one every three minutes,” said Nick Bonstow, director of Strand Partners.
“Now a total of 600,000, or 32% of Thailand’s businesses, have already adopted AI, a year-on-year growth rate of 33%.”
A total of 67% of Thai businesses that adopted AI reported an increase in revenue, with an average uplift of 17%, while 78% expect an average of 17% in cost savings, according to the report.
The top three sectors adopting AI are manufacturing, IT and technology, and financial services.
Some 32% of businesses in Thailand now use at least one AI tool, rising from 24% last year.
However, 72% of respondents remain focused primarily on basic use cases, rather than innovation such as developing new products or disrupting industries.
“This underscores the need to deepen AI adoption to unlock Thailand’s full AI potential,” Mr Bonstow said.
Only 18% of Thailand’s businesses have advanced to the intermediate stage of AI adoption, while 10% reached the most transformative stage of AI integration, compared with 9% of companies in Vietnam and 8% in the Philippines, he said.
Two-tier economy
Half of startups in Thailand use AI in some way, of which 40% are building entirely new AI-driven products.
The study found 73% of businesses overall and 84% of startups believe AI will transform their industry in five years, making Thai startups key to innovation and competitiveness on the continent, noted AWS.
While 44% of large enterprises are using AI, only 16% of these are delivering a new AI-driven product or service, and only 18% have a comprehensive AI strategy.
Similarly, 32% of small and medium-sized enterprises have adopted AI, but only 9% are leveraging AI for its most advanced uses.
“Our report warns of a two-tier AI economy, where startups are racing ahead and other businesses are left behind, said Mr Bonstow.
AI Skills Gap
A lack of skilled personnel is the leading reason that 47% of businesses in Thailand say is preventing them from adopting or expanding their use of AI.
This puts Thailand’s global competitiveness at risk and restricts economic potential, as AI literacy is expected to be required in 61% of jobs in the future, and only 29% of businesses feel prepared with their current workforce’s skillset.
Only 34% of employees received any digital skills training in the past year, noted the report.
Businesses are struggling to hire workers with the right skills and would be willing to increase salary offers by an average of 36% for a candidate with strong AI skills, according to respondents.
Firms spend 27% of their technology budgets on legal and compliance expenses, with 76% expecting these costs to rise over three years.
Vatsun Thirapatarapong, country manager of AWS Thailand, said to maintain Thailand’s competitive edge on the global AI stage, a clear “AI First” policy is needed to drive adoption.
He said this involves reimagining and automating government workflows, potentially requiring legal changes to enable fully online services.