• AI is growing fast in Southeast Asia, and Google is turning it into progress.
• From health to farming, Google’s AI is driving value in ASEAN.

AI is already changing how people live and work in Southeast Asia. According to the AI Opportunity in Southeast Asia report, around 70% of the region’s population is now employing generative AI tools every week. That wave of adoption may inject up to US$270 billion into local economies, creating new possibilities for growth and innovation.

Google sees this as more than just a tech trend. The company is advertising AI as a useful tool for addressing regional challenges ranging from improving healthcare research to strengthening food security and climate resilience. Its latest initiatives, announced during the ASEAN Business and Investment Summit, aim to turn AI’s potential into measurable results in industries and communities.

From research labs to real-world health benefits

In the scientific field, AI is speeding up discoveries that once took years. One of the better examples is AlphaFold, a Google DeepMind AI system that predicts protein structure, a important step in medical and biological research. More than 85,000 researchers in Southeast Asia use the AlphaFold Database to study diseases and develop treatments.

In Malaysia, scientists are using AlphaFold to explore treatments for melioidosis, a deadly bacterial infection common in tropical areas. In Singapore, the same technology is helping detect early signs of Parkinson’s disease. Both projects show how open access to AI tools can help researchers in the region make breakthroughs that improve public health.

AI in service of the planet

Beyond labs and hospitals, Google is also turning AI toward environmental goals. The company is expanding its Agricultural APIs to Malaysia, Vietnam, and Indonesia – tools that analyse satellite images to identify crops, field sizes, and harvest cycles. The insights can help farmers manage land more efficiently and adapt to unpredictable weather conditions.

In another effort, Google.org – the company’s philanthropic arm – is providing US$1.5 million in funding to the nonprofit TransitionZero. The goal is to develop an AI-based platform that makes clean energy planning cheaper and easier. The project, starting in Malaysia and Singapore, could help governments and utilities make quicker, data-driven energy decisions that support the region’s transition to renewables.

Teaching AI skills at every level

If AI is to reach its full potential, people need to understand how to use it. That belief is driving Google’s focus on training and education. The company collaborated with the ASEAN Foundation to launch AI Ready ASEAN, a regional programme aimed at assisting students, parents, and educators in developing AI litreacy. Since its launch in 2024, the initiative has reached more than 800,000 people, and its online learning hub, AI Class ASEAN, now supports over 14,000 active users.

Teachers are also getting a boost. Through Gemini Academy, more than 290,000 educators in Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand, Vietnam, and the Philippines have been trained to use AI tools in their classrooms. To encourage students to learn by doing, Google is offering its Gemini AI Pro Plan free for 12 months to users aged 18 and above.

Google’s work in the region is not limited to skill training. With young users spending more time online, the firm is investing $5 million in NGOs that promote digital well-being among teenagers, parents, and staff members. The programmes offer practical advice and resources to help families build healthy relationships with technology – an increasingly important goal in an AI-driven world.

Collaboration as the real engine of progress

Since 2020, Google.org has committed more than US$40 million in direct donations, US$80 million in product support, and 20,000 volunteer hours to social impact projects in Southeast Asia. The contributions have reached nearly 4 million learners – from small business owners to teachers – improving their understanding of digital skills, cybersecurity, and AI.

For Google, the message is clear: the success of AI depends on partnership. Governments, companies, and communities all have a role to play in building systems that are useful, responsible, and inclusive.

As AI continues to shape how Southeast Asia grows, Google’s role looks less like that of a technology vendor and more like a long-term collaborator – one investing not only in products, but in people and possibilities that can outlast any single innovation.

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