Three Surveys, Three Answers on Thai AI Adoption
Three 2026 studies put Thai AI use between 43% and 61%, yet each finds that few organisations can show results.
How many Thai companies use AI? A state research centre says 53.7% of organisations. Deloitte says 61%. Amazon Web Services says 43%. All three published in the second half of 2026, and all three are right about the question they asked.
The gap comes from the question. NECTEC counted organisations that have adopted AI at all. Deloitte counted those implementing it. AWS counted businesses using it consistently. Read side by side, the surveys agree on something more useful than the headline: using AI is now common, and proving it works is not.
NECTEC: adoption tripled, readiness is low
The National Electronics and Computer Technology Center (NECTEC) and NSTDA released their 2026 Organization AI Readiness Survey on 3 September. It covers 574 public and private organisations across 10 industry groups. Of those, 53.7% have adopted AI, 36.6% plan to and 9.8% have no plans. Adoption roughly tripled between 2024 and 2026.
Size matters. Adoption is 67.2% among large organisations, 48.5% among medium ones and 43.8% among small ones. Manufacturing leads on use, followed by education.
Readiness is weaker than use. Across the 308 adopters, average readiness scores 40.0%, which NECTEC places at the "AI Aware" level. Governance is the weakest of five dimensions at 28.9%, and data and infrastructure the strongest at 51.0%. Only 40.8% have data of AI-ready quality.
Banks stand out. They score 70.7%, the only group to reach the "Ready" level, while non-bank financial firms such as insurers and securities houses score 22.8%.
NECTEC's own 2024 readiness index was higher, at 55.1%, but it was based on just 103 adopters. The centre attributes the drop to newer, less prepared organisations entering the 2026 sample, not to a decline in readiness.
Deloitte and AWS: pilots outnumber production
Deloitte's sixth annual survey of business leaders in six industries ran from January to May 2026. The release does not state a sample size. It found that 61% of organisations report implementing AI, up from 47%. Only 19% have scaled it across operations, while 81% remain in experiments and pilots.
The payoff is narrow. Half say AI reduced costs and 48% report efficiency gains, but 9% say it opened new revenue. Seventy-one percent named a shortage of technical talent as a barrier. Robert Gallagher, Deloitte Thailand's technology, media and telecommunications leader, said AI is still treated as "an IT project" rather than a business priority.
The AWS study, with Strand Partners, reported by the Nation, surveyed 1,000 business leaders and 1,000 members of the public. It put consistent business use at 43%, up from 32% a year earlier. Of those users, 74% are at a basic stage using off-the-shelf tools, 17% are intermediate and 9% advanced, barely changed from 10% a year earlier. Only 21% of businesses have a formal AI strategy, and 34% have no policy on AI use.
What the three have in common
Measurement is the shared weak point. NECTEC found that 86.4% of adopters cannot state what results they have achieved. Nearly half, 49.4%, have never measured them, and only 13.6% have measured clear positive results. Where value is shown, it is lower cost and shorter working time, not higher revenue or market share.
Agentic AI, meaning systems that carry out steps on their own, is early: 26.0% of NECTEC's adopters have begun using it. Among organisations not yet using AI, 51.4% put a clear regulatory framework first.
NECTEC executive director Dr Chai Wutiwiwatchai said the challenge is not merely getting organisations to start using AI. NECTEC proposes a National AI Governance Pack of standard templates, sector clinics for energy and non-bank finance, and cloud credits for medium-sized firms.
For a manager, the useful reading is that a Thai company that has adopted AI is in the majority, and one that can show a measured result is in a small minority. The next data point is the Thailand AI Readiness Index, launched on 2 July by NXPO, AIS Academy and IRIS Consulting, which aims to assess 5,000 organisations in its first year.
FAQ
What share of Thai organisations use AI?
It depends on the survey. NECTEC's September 2026 survey found 53.7% of organisations have adopted AI, Deloitte found 61% implementing it and AWS found 43% using it consistently.
Why do the surveys disagree?
They define use differently and sample different groups. NECTEC surveyed 574 organisations, AWS surveyed 1,000 business leaders, and Deloitte did not state a sample size.
Is AI paying off for Thai companies?
Mostly in cost. Deloitte found 50% reporting lower costs, but only 9% reporting new revenue. NECTEC found only 13.6% of adopters have measured clear positive results.
Sources
- NECTEC: 2026 AI Readiness Survey, 53.7% of Thai organizations now use AI
- Deloitte Southeast Asia: Thailand's digital momentum is real, yet the AI payoff is still to be unlocked
- Nation Thailand: Thailand's AI use surges to 43%, but most firms stay stuck in basics
- Tech For Good Institute: Governance Meets Reality, Thailand Tech Governance at mid-2026
