86% of Southeast Asian firms are set to adopt AI agents within a year, with half of them having already deployed the technology.
A new survey by IDC, commissioned by UiPath, shows that 86% of organizations in Southeast Asia (SEA) will be using AI agents within the next 12 months.
Currently, about 42% of the surveyed organizations have already deployed the technology, while another 44% plan to do so soon.
The findings highlight a major shift from small-scale AI trials to large-scale adoption in 2025, as companies look to boost productivity, speed up product development, and improve quality. Most organizations which tested the technology on a smaller scale say they already see clear benefits: 75% report better decision-making, and 72% say AI agents help raise productivity.
Industries leading the way with agentic AI implementation include financial services, manufacturing, retail, and wholesale. The most popular uses for AI agents are customer support automation (58%), fraud detection and risk management (58%), and productivity enhancement (56%).
However, challenges remain. Key barriers for the latest AI innovation include data security concerns (57%), high implementation costs (48%), and integration with legacy systems (42%). Businesses are also worried about privacy risks (51%), security vulnerabilities (48%), and unintended consequences of autonomous actions (47%).
Despite these hurdles, 79% of organizations in the region are already developing new AI use cases. Many are exploring agentic automation — the integration of AI agents with robotic process automation (RPA) to streamline workflows and handle complex tasks. This approach, known as agentic orchestration, allows businesses to scale AI adoption and unlock greater efficiency.
Experts stress that for AI to succeed in SEA, governance, data security, and transparency must be prioritized. Organizations are urged to build responsible “human-agent” ecosystems, strengthen regulations for ethical AI use, and invest in upskilling talent.
UiPath and IDC conclude that AI is fast becoming a strategic necessity for businesses in SEA, offering not just productivity gains but also resilience against future disruptions.
