Two continents, two bets on advertising AI. And a figure that disproves both.
In Vietnam, 88% of workers use AI at work. In Indonesia, 92% — the highest rate in the world. Singapore tops the global adoption index at 66%. That’s the legend. Now the number that matters: 18%. It’s the share of Vietnamese companies that have actually deployed AI in their organization. In Indonesia, enterprise diffusion peaks at 12.7%. Translation: millions of people tinker with ChatGPT on their phones, and almost no one has industrialized anything.
Speed is not a competitive advantage
Producing an AI-generated advertising video today takes a few hours. It will be true in Jakarta as in Brussels, with the same models, at the same prices. An advantage that everyone can buy on subscription is not an advantage. It’s an entry ticket. The real differentiator is to produce quickly something that sells, and to be able to prove it. On this front, volume never makes up for a lack of an idea.
The AI Act is not a constraint. It is a brief.
Since August 2, 2026, Regulation (EU) 2024/1689 imposes transparency on AI-generated content. The profession has perceived it as a punishment. A misreading. In a market where the public suspects every image to be fabricated, the one who clearly states what they do loses nothing. They gain the only asset that AI cannot generate: credibility. And Asia does not do the inverse. Vietnam became in March the first country in the region to have an AI law, which also requires labeling of generated content and the declaration of non-human agents. The “speed vs regulation” model no longer exists.
The real gap
It’s not between Asia and Europe. It’s between those who use AI and those who have integrated it into their value chain. AI has made production free. It has, in turn, made the idea infinitely more expensive. Rather good news for those who have it.
Sources
The five, in plain terms :
Individual use vs enterprise adoption (88% / 18% Vietnam, 92% / 12.7% Indonesia)
https://digitalinasia.com/southeast-asia-1-trillion-ai-opportunity-2030/
Global AI Adoption Index 2025 — Singapore 66%
https://cybernews.com/ai-news/ai-adoption-index-2025-which-countries-use-ai-tools-the-most/
McKinsey — Southeast Asia above the global average
https://fintechnews.sg/127112/ai/mckinsey-ai-adoption-in-southeast-asia-surpasses-global-average/
Regulation (EU) 2024/1689 — official French text
https://eur-lex.europa.eu/eli/reg/2024/1689/oj?locale=fr
Vietnamese AI law, effective since March 1, 2026
https://www.france24.com/en/live-news/20260228-vietnam-ai-law-takes-effect-first-in-southeast-asia
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