Google says Gemini users in ASEAN double, with Thailand leading in lifestyle and content creation

Google has released its first Gemini Report: Southeast Asia 2026, revealing that active users of the Gemini app in ASEAN have more than doubled over the past year.

The report says Southeast Asia is a market where Gemini is growing faster than other Google products. In Thailand, Gemini is also the most-searched AI assistant.

Gemini currently has 900 million monthly active users worldwide. Its growth in Southeast Asia has been driven by the region’s demographics, with almost 40% of the population aged under 25, as well as Gemini’s ability to support local languages, including Thai.

Sapna Chadha, Google’s vice president for Southeast Asia and South Asia, said people in Southeast Asia are not only adopting AI, but are also using Gemini in ways that fit their own languages and contexts.

This has turned Gemini into a daily tool for work, learning and lifestyle use, she said.

Gen Z drives usage

The report says younger users are the most active Gemini users in the region. They send more prompts per person, hold longer AI conversations, and use more detailed instructions than other age groups.

Google said nearly 70% of all prompts in the region are written in local languages. The countries with the highest local-language prompt shares are:

• Vietnam: 89%
• Thailand: 87%
• Indonesia: 84%

The Southeast Asia Holistic Evaluation of Language Models, or SEA-HELM, conducted by AI Singapore, also ranked Gemini as the best-performing large language model overall for Southeast Asian languages, including Thai.

Dr Leslie Teo, senior director of AI products at AI Singapore, said AI adoption in a linguistically diverse region can happen only when models understand local context, not merely translate languages.

He said the SEA-HELM evaluation reflects the importance of developing multilingual AI.

Mobile is the main access channel

The report found that nearly three-quarters of Gemini usage comes from mobile devices.

Many users are also choosing voice, images and videos instead of text typing.

Prompts that include image or video uploads account for more than 40% of total prompts, while voice-only commands make up more than 10%.

Features such as Gemini Live are being used for daily tasks, including translating signs, analysing documents and helping solve repair problems in real time.

AI content creation rises

Around 40% of all commands ask Gemini to create something new, such as images, music, videos or documents.

Over the past year, users in Southeast Asia have generated more than 5 billion images through the Nano Banana model.

They have also created nearly 1 million songs since the launch of the Lyria 3 music-generation model on Gemini.

Users are also using Gemini as an assistant to summarise information, organise documents and brainstorm ideas on topics such as choosing gifts, planning trips and solving problems step by step.

Thailand leads ASEAN in lifestyle use

Google said Thailand is the market with the highest use of Gemini for lifestyle purposes in Southeast Asia.

One-third of prompts in Thailand fall under general use and inspiration-seeking, ranging from home decoration ideas and recipes to travel destination searches.

Thailand highlights:

• 87% of all prompts in Thailand are in Thai, especially for learning, exam preparation and general use. English remains common for coding and specialised work.
• 26% of all Thai prompts are related to content creation, including image generation and writing. Thai women use Gemini for creative tasks 50% more often than Thai men.
• Users aged under 25 are the most active group in Thailand, both in terms of prompt volume and conversation length.
• Users aged 55 and above, who account for 10% of Gemini’s user base in Thailand, have the highest rate of multimodal use through voice and images in the region.

Gemini Spark to expand into ASEAN languages

Google said it is preparing to bring more AI agent capabilities to users in the region through Gemini Spark.

The feature is designed to work proactively and connect with Google Workspace services such as Gmail, Google Docs and Google Slides. It can also operate on the cloud even when users are not actively using a device.

At present, Gemini Spark is available in English for Google AI Ultra members.

Google said it will gradually support local languages in Southeast Asia for Google AI Ultra members from this week.

Google is also continuing to expand Gemini’s capabilities through features such as Nano Banana, Gemini Omni, Canvas, custom Gems, and in-app shopping features.

The shopping feature allows users in Thailand, Indonesia, the Philippines and Vietnam to search for and compare products directly within the chat.

The report analyses user behaviour in Thailand, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore and Vietnam, covering usage for work, learning, creativity and daily AI applications.

Source: Krungthep Turakij