- Malaysia has recorded over 3.4 million businesses applying AI, reflecting a rapid rate of technology popularization across the entire economy.
- Research by AWS and Strand Partners shows that 38% of businesses now regularly use at least one AI tool, up from 27% in 2025.
- Nearly 1 million businesses began applying AI in the past year, equivalent to almost two new businesses every minute.
- However, 67% of businesses are only using AI for basic tasks such as public chatbots and existing productivity tools.
- Only 19% of businesses have developed a formal strategy to scale AI across multiple departments and business processes.
- Up to 69% of businesses evaluate domestic software and AI solution providers as playing a vital role in the implementation process.
- About 57% of businesses primarily purchase AI capabilities from external providers, consultants, or software firms.
- The finance and manufacturing sectors lead in AI adoption rates with 53% and 50% respectively, but maturity levels vary greatly.
- In the finance sector, 64% of businesses have moved past the pilot phase and 42% have an AI scaling strategy, while 57% of manufacturing firms are still in the exploration or testing phase.
- Only 30% of businesses have clearly defined AI management responsibilities, 27% perform regular monitoring, 18% have incident handling processes, and 72% say they would invest more boldly if the public sector increased AI adoption.
📌 Malaysia has achieved a major milestone in the number of businesses using AI, but the gap between initial implementation and organization-wide scaling remains vast. Most businesses are only exploiting basic applications, while the number of units with complete AI strategies, governance, and processes is limited. According to research, developing a domestic AI provider ecosystem and increasing AI adoption in the public sector could be two key drivers to accelerate the transition from experimentation to creating real competitive advantage.
