Generative AI is now an essential part of daily life for 243 million Southeast Asians. Read about how this will impact the region’s economy in our 11th e-Conomy SEA report.

Southeast Asia’s digital economy is surging, with generative AI driving growth toward a projected $1 trillion valuation by 2035. Consumers are increasingly comfortable using AI for complex tasks, signaling a shift toward autonomous "agentic commerce." To sustain this momentum, the region must now prioritize expanding data center infrastructure, improving energy efficiency, and establishing unified digital trade policies.

AI is growing super fast in Southeast Asia, with millions of people already using it to shop, travel, and manage money. This tech boom is expected to make the region's digital economy worth over $1 trillion by 2035. People there are starting to trust AI enough to let it handle tasks like comparing prices and buying things for them. To keep this growth going, the region is building more data centers and setting up new rules to keep everything safe and efficient.

In Southeast Asia, generative AI has become an essential part of daily life, actively used by 243 million people (58% of the working population) and scaling four times faster than the rollout of the mobile internet. This has major implications for the region’s economy, according to the 11th edition of the annual e-Conomy SEA report 1 . Building the Intelligent Econom y, by Google, Temasek, and Bain & Company, finds that widespread AI implementation is propelling the region’s digital economy to grow 17% year-on-year (YoY) to reach $368 billion 2 in Gross Merchandise Value (GMV) in 2026.

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