The report showed that AI adoption in Vietnam accelerated in the second half of 2025, rising from 21.2% in the first half to 23.5% by the year’s end. 

By comparison, global AI diffusion grew by 1.2%over the same period, from 15.1% to 16.3%, indicating that roughly one in six people worldwide is now using generative AI tools. Vietnam’s faster-than-average growth highlights growing momentum, even as it continues to trail more advanced economies.

The top of the global rankings remained dominated by countries with high levels of digitalisation and early investments in AI. The United Arab Emirates retained first place, with more than 64% of its working-age population using AI by the end of 2025. Singapore ranked second at 60.9%, followed by digitally advanced smaller economies such as Norway, Ireland, France, and Spain.

The report also underscored a widening gap between income groups. “Of the ten countries with the largest increases in AI adoption share, all are high-income economies,” AIEI noted, attributing their advantage to early investment in digital infrastructure, AI skills development, and the scaling of AI use across the public sector.

Despite leading globally in AI infrastructure and foundational model development, the United States slipped one place, from 23rd to 24th, in the second half of 2025. AI diffusion among the US working-age population stood at 28.3%, below that of several smaller but more digitally advanced economies.

A notable bright spot in Asia was the Republic of Korea (RoK). In the second half of 2025, the country climbed seven places in the global rankings, from 25th to 18th. The share of the population using generative AI rose from around 26% to over 30%, making the RoK the world’s largest ChatGPT subscription market. This surge prompted OpenAI to open an office in Seoul, as generative AI became increasingly embedded in schools, workplaces, and public services. The RoK has also emerged as one of ChatGPT’s fastest-growing markets globally.

For Vietnam, where approximately 85.6 million people, or 84.2% of the population, are Internet users (according to DataReportal), there remains considerable scope for AI adoption to deepen.

However, the gap with leading countries suggests that further investment in digital infrastructure, AI skills development, and policies to accelerate AI deployment across both the public and private sectors will be critical to strengthening Vietnam’s position on the global AI landscape in the years ahead.

Draft Law on Artificial Intelligence hoped to create enough space for AI to thrive

The draft Law on Artificial Intelligence, the first of its kind in Vietnam which is being discussed at the 15th National Assembly’s 10th session, is expected to help establish a legal foundation to promote the research, development, application, and governance of AI in a safe, responsible manner, once it is approved.