In the first half of 2025, Vietnamese users spent approximately 283 million hours on generative artificial-intelligence (GenAI) applications on mobile devices. That equates to roughly 1.6 million hours each day in Vietnam alone.

This surge, documented by the analytics firm Sensor Tower, underscores how rapidly AI adoption is growing - particularly in Asia and notably in Vietnam.

Key Highlights

• The time Vietnamese users spent on GenAI apps jumped from about 36.2 million hours in the first half of 2024, to 101 million hours in the second half of 2024, and then reached 283 million hours in the first half of 2025.

• Over the same period, users in Vietnam launched roughly 7.5 billion sessions on GenAI apps across iOS and Android (excluding web-browser usage).

• With a population of around 100 million, the average Vietnamese user spent about 2.83 hours using GenAI apps and initiated roughly 75 sessions per person during this period.

• In terms of downloads, Vietnam saw about 33.1 million GenAI app installs in the first half of 2025 - nearly double the 16.7 million installs reported in the second half of 2024.

Local App Innovation

While globally recognized names such as ChatGPT, Gemini, DeepSeek, Grok and Copilot dominate the GenAI space, the Vietnamese-developed app AI Hay has also emerged as a major player. It ranked third in downloads among GenAI apps in Vietnam in the first half of 2025 and placed second in monthly active users (MAU) among local offerings.

According to AI Hay’s CEO, Trần Quang Đức, the shift from skepticism to adoption among Vietnamese users reflects growing recognition of GenAI’s practical benefits for work, study and daily life.

Opportunities & Challenges

The up-surge in usage demonstrates strong market momentum: a report by Decision Lab found that 78 % of surveyed Vietnamese had used AI within the past three months, and many used more than one AI tool.

However, monetisation remains a hurdle for domestic GenAI apps. Despite spending an estimated US $7.49 million on GenAI apps in Vietnam in the first half of 2025, local offerings did not make the global top-10 revenue list. Many Vietnamese apps still offer free or low-cost access to build user-bases.

Moreover, for the domestic ecosystem: Vietnam holds roughly 27 % of the ASEAN region’s generative AI startup projects, and in 2024 local firms raised about US $780 million — second only to Singapore in the region. These companies are seen as crucial drivers of sustainable economic growth, with the broader Generative AI ecosystem in Vietnam projected to contribute US $120–130 billion by 2040.

What This Means

Vietnam’s rapid adoption of GenAI suggests that the country is not just consuming global technology, but also cultivating local innovation. For developers & tech firms, the strong demand signals opportunity - yet building scalable business models will be key. For policy-makers and educators, the shift offers a chance to integrate AI more deeply into learning, work and society.

As usage grows, issues such as data governance, ethical application, localisation and user literacy will become increasingly important in shaping how GenAI contributes to Vietnam’s tech ecosystem and broader economy.