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According to a Sensor Tower report on the global AI market, Vietnam recorded 18.6 billion AI app sessions in the first six months of 2026, more than double the 8.82 billion recorded a year earlier.

Mobile engagement also surged, with users spending 704 million hours on AI apps, up from 300 million hours in the first half of 2025. Combined web and mobile usage rose only slightly, suggesting users are increasingly shifting from desktop to mobile.

Consumer spending followed the same trend. In-app purchase revenue nearly doubled to US$14.4 million from US$7.44 million, indicating growing demand for premium AI services.

While the broader Asia-Pacific AI market showed signs of maturing—with monthly active users declining 3.75% in the first quarter after 13 consecutive quarters of growth—Vietnam remained one of the region’s most active AI markets.

According to Sensor Tower’s first-quarter rankings, ChatGPT and Gemini remained the two most-used AI platforms in Vietnam by monthly active users. AI Hay, developed by a Vietnamese startup, ranked third, ahead of Grok and DeepSeek. It is also among the few domestic AI applications to maintain a leading position in its home market.

A representative behind the app said the platform has evolved from a question-and-answer app into an AI assistant for education, work, and daily tasks.

Its most-used feature is photo-based queries, allowing users to photograph documents for translation, upload homework for step-by-step explanations, or scan invoices and official notices to extract information. The app has surpassed 22 million downloads, up from 15 million a year earlier.

“Optimizing the platform for Vietnamese users through stronger language understanding, contextual awareness, and features designed around real user needs has been key to attracting local users,” the representative said.

Following Vietnam’s national high school graduation exams, the app introduced tools that solve exam questions, estimate university admission prospects, and provide career guidance based on students’ scores, generating millions of interactions.

Google’s latest Gemini report also identified Vietnam as Southeast Asia’s leading market for native-language AI, with 89% of prompts submitted in Vietnamese—the highest share in the region.

Industry observers say AI is increasingly being used for document translation, data analysis, coding, content summarization, and technical explanations, rather than simple information searches.

Globally, Sensor Tower estimates consumers spent more than US$4 billion on AI applications in the first half of 2026, driven by around 2.3 billion downloads, with usage time and session volumes continuing to grow.

To expand Vietnam’s AI ecosystem, AI Hay said it is preparing to launch an application programming interface (API) that will allow developers to integrate its AI into their own software.

“This is an important milestone for us,” the representative said. “It not only demonstrates Vietnam’s AI capabilities but also provides domestic organizations with a locally developed AI platform, reducing reliance on foreign solutions.”