Southeast Asian organizations are leading global peers in using artificial intelligence (AI) safely and responsibly, positioning them for stronger return on investment (ROI) from the technology, according to a new study by SAS and the International Data Corporation (IDC).
The annual report, which tracks how organizations around the world are adopting AI, building trust in AI and realizing business value from the technology, found that Southeast Asia’s Trustworthiness Index rose 8.8 points from 57.7 in 2025 to 66.5 out of 100 in 2026, demonstrating improved practices.
The Trustworthiness Index evaluates governance, data, and oversight practices that prove AI reliability across five five dimensions: data quality and governance, model governance and oversight, explainability and fairness, responsible AI policy, and audit and accountability.
At the same time, the AI Trust Gap in Southeast Asia shrank from 14.6 points in 2025 to 6.6 points in 2026. The Trust Gap is the difference between what people believe AI can be trusted to do and what AI can demonstrably prove it can do reliably and safely.
With perceived trust in Southeast Asia remaining broadly stable at 73.1 in 2026, this means that the narrowing gap in the region was driven primarily by stronger capabilities rather than lower expectations.
Stronger trust has yet to yield stronger returns
Among all the major regions, Southeast Asia was the only market in the study to exceed the global benchmark across all five dimensions of trustworthy AI, giving these organizations a strong position to capture substantial business benefits.
In particular, the SAS and IDC research found that organizations investing in trustworthy AI measures are 15 times more likely to report strong or high ROI. This suggests that governance and ethics are not compliance overhead but rather competitive advantages that drive the success of AI-powered solutions.
These results align with other findings. A separate 2026 study by SAP SE and Oxford Economics found that 55% of the 200 Thai organizations surveyed believe their AI implementation has not yet reached full potential.
Across Southeast Asia, uncertain ROI or business case ranks as the third-largest barrier to AI use, according to a 2026 study by McKinsey. The survey, which polled 330 respondents from companies in the region, placed unclear business benefits neck and neck with limited budget or investment and data quality or availability issues.
AI ambitions exceed infrastructure readiness
While AI trustworthiness and maturity are progressing rapidly, Southeast Asia’s infrastructure is advancing at a much slower pace. In 2026, advanced AI maturity rose 20.5 points versus just 4.1 points for infrastructure maturity.
In particular, siloed approaches to AI adoption remain a central challenge. The SAP SE and Oxford Economics research reported that 47% of the Thai organizations surveyed still rely on fragmented AI deployments rather than enterprise-wide adoption. Only 40% of Thai companies have a dedicated AI leader responsible for AI adoption, 30% have leadership key performance indicators (KPIs) for AI, and 35% provide leadership training on AI capabilities and risks.
Data readiness is also critical to unlocking greater value from AI implementation. While 57% of Thai businesses consider themselves data-ready for AI, 70% identified data quality or availability issues as a challenge to achieving greater AI ROI. Furthermore, 79% of Thai businesses experience low-quality AI outputs at least occasionally, causing rework, delays or backlogs.
Skill gaps and governance issues are other critical obstacles in the way of enterprise AI value. In Thailand, some 76% of businesses are not convinced company-led upskilling is keeping pace with the evolution of AI tools. Additionally, only 13% reported full readiness in skills, and 14% in processes and frameworks to govern AI effectively.
AI investments continue to rise
Despite these gaps and challenges, AI investment intentions are rising, with 65.6% of Southeast Asian organizations planning a small increase in AI spending over the next 12 months and 14.8% planning a large increase.
In Thailand, the average company expects to spend THB 602.9 million (US$18.3 million) on AI this year, but that amount is set to grow by 44% in the next two years.
Across the wider Asia-Pacific region, 59% of organizations anticipate raising AI investment by more than 25% in 2026 relative to 2025, according to Digital Realty’s 2026 Global Data Insights Survey, demonstrating how firms throughout the region are strengthening their commitment to the technology.
Findings from the SAS and IDC research are based on a global survey of more than 2,600 decision-makers with knowledge of or influence over their company’s data and AI initiatives. The survey was conducted across 28 countries and four focus industries, namely banking, insurance, life sciences and the public sector.
Across the industries assessed, banking scored above the global average on every dimension of trustworthy AI, with year-over-year gains running from roughly eight to 14 points across the board. Trust gaps have also narrowed on all five dimensions. This highlights how the banking sector is outperforming other industries in AI trustworthiness through more mature governance frameworks and better oversight practices.
The study also revealed significant gaps between AI leaders and laggards. In particular, 85% of AI-leader banks have established governance frameworks, compared to just 29% of laggards. The outcome of this is clear, with 66% of leader banks expecting strong or high AI ROI.
Featured image: Edited by Fintech News Singapore, based on image by magnific via Magnific
