Small businesses in Southeast Asia are increasingly turning to artificial intelligence to boost efficiency and drive growth. The Boston Consulting Group projects that AI could add as much as $120 billion to the region’s GDP by 2027. Yet, for many smaller enterprises, the initial cost of adopting AI remains a significant hurdle.
In the fast-paced world of e-commerce, AI is making its mark. Customer service tops the list of applications, with marketing and advertising not far behind, according to research by Lazada and Kantar. As Jochen Wirtz from the National University of Singapore puts it, “Either you grow and adopt, or you die.”
The digital transformation is being driven primarily by a young wave of business leaders. CPA Australia’s Small Business Survey highlights that in places like Vietnam, Malaysia, and the Philippines, a high percentage of business owners are under 40 and eager to embrace technology.
Consider Lita Global, an Indonesia-based social media platform. By integrating models from OpenAI, the company has doubled its online gaming events, boosting weekly revenues by 20%. AI-powered language translation and improved chat functions are helping to make customer interactions smoother and more engaging.
AI livestreaming offers another cost-effective solution for micro, small, and medium enterprises. Services from providers like TopviewAI allow businesses to run live shopping events for about $1 per minute, sidestepping the hefty costs typically associated with traditional livestream setups.
However, not all AI solutions come cheap. While basic chatbots can handle straightforward tasks affordably, more sophisticated systems demand a significant investment. For instance, Lita Global allocates around $2,000 each month for its AI operations, including expenses for OpenAI API tokens. On a positive note, Gartner forecasts that these costs will drop by 2027, making advanced AI more accessible to smaller firms.
Even in regions where labour is relatively inexpensive, the advantages of AI are hard to ignore. With a proactive and tech-savvy entrepreneurial culture, countries like Vietnam are set to harness AI’s benefits much as they did with the rise of e-hailing services.
