How Gemini is speaking the language of Southeast Asia

Ashwani Kumar — Thu, 16 Jul 2026 12:54:30 +0000

How Gemini is speaking the language of Southeast Asia

Active users on the Gemini app in Southeast Asia have more than doubled in the last year. Here is a look at how the region is using the chatbot in their daily life.

People are making Gemini a part of their daily lives, especially in Southeast Asia. According to our first-ever Gemini Southeast Asia Report, Southeast Asians are adopting Gemini at a record-breaking pace — faster than they’ve adopted any other Google app. The number of active users on the Gemini app in the region has more than doubled in the region in a year. This growth is driven by a young, tech-savvy population (nearly 40% of the region is under 25) and Gemini’s strong performance in local languages.

We dove deeper into how people are using the Gemini app across six of the region’s largest user bases: Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam. The data is clear. As the Gemini app takes off across Southeast Asia, it’s becoming an indispensable companion that’s shaping how we work, study and live today.

Here are some key insights about the Gemini app’s adoption in the region:

Young power users: Younger digital natives are leading Gemini app adoption in Southeast Asia. They make more requests, engage in longer conversations with Gemini and write significantly more detailed prompts than other age groups.
Local language fluency: Gemini’s success in the region comes down to local fluency. Nearly 70% of prompts in the region are submitted in native languages, led by Vietnam (89%), Thailand (87%) and Indonesia (84%). And according to the Southeast Asia Holistic Evaluation of Language Models (SEA-HELM), Gemini is the overall best-performing large language model (LLM) for Southeast Asian languages.
Multimodal and on-the-go: In Southeast Asia, almost 3 in 4 of Gemini requests across the region come from mobile devices. And because people can interact comfortably in their native languages, they’re bypassing keyboards — relying on voice commands, photos and video uploads for more than 40% of their prompts, and voice only for 10%, using features like Gemini Live.
A creative collaborator: About 40% of queries ask Gemini to generate entirely new outputs, from generating images, music, videos to writing documents. People across Southeast Asia have generated 5 billion images with Nano Banana, our image generation model, over the past year. They’ve also generated almost 1 million songs since we introduced Lyria 3, Gemini’s music generation model, in Southeast Asia.
Research and thought partnership: People frequently rely on Gemini as a research assistant to summarize dense documents and structure messy data. They also use it as a thought partner for advice, opinions, and recommendations – like birthday gift ideas, travel destinations, and step-by-step troubleshooting.

AI adoption happens when technology feels native, not translated. In a region as linguistically rich as Southeast Asia, models must understand local context deeply to be used effectively — whether that’s for learning, nuance-heavy writing or complex business brainstorming. Gemini’s strong standing on our SEA-HELM evaluation framework demonstrates its ability to navigate the complex linguistic realities of the region. These results underscore why rigorous evaluation and continued development of multilingual AI remain important for advancing AI adoption across Southeast Asia.

By Dr. Leslie TeoSenior Director of AI Products, AI Singapore

We want to make Gemini the most helpful AI assistant for the 600 million people across Southeast Asia. The next step is bringing the power of AI agents to everyone, safely and securely. That includes Gemini Spark, which transforms Gemini from an assistant that answers questions into an active partner that completes real work on your behalf.

Think of Spark as a 24/7 personal AI agent designed to proactively manage your tasks. Deeply integrated with Workspace tools, like Gmail, Docs and Slides, it works in the background — even when your laptop is closed or your phone is locked.

Following its initial launch in English, we’re rolling out Gemini Spark in local languages to Gemini Advanced (Ultra) subscribers this week. This builds on the powerful features people in the region already love — like Nano Banana for visual creativity, Canvas for deep learning and custom Gems for personal and professional growth.

This is only the beginning of the Gemini story in Southeast Asia. We’ll continue to work toward our vision of a truly universal assistant that’s personal, proactive and powerful for the people who use it.

Learn more about how people in Southeast Asia are adopting Gemini in their countries.

Google’s Gemini AI application has more than doubled its active user base in Southeast Asia over the past year, positioning the region as one of the fastest-growing AI markets globally. According to Google’s inaugural Gemini Report: Southeast Asia 2026, this rapid adoption is heavily driven by deep integration with local languages, a massive mobile-first population, and enthusiastic Gen Z power users. [1, 2, 3, 4, 5]

The regional trends detailed by Google showcase exactly how Gemini is navigating and integrating into Southeast Asia’s distinct digital and cultural landscape. [6, 7]

Top Performance in Regional Languages

Gemini has overcome complex regional linguistic variations to become an organic daily assistant for over 600 million people. [7, 8]

Benchmark Validation: The Southeast Asia Holistic Evaluation of Language Models (SEA-HELM), developed by the leading think-tank AI Singapore, ranks Gemini as the overall best-performing large language model (LLM) for Southeast Asian languages. [4, 9]
High Local Language Prompting: Nearly 70% of all prompts in the region are written or spoken in native languages. Local language interaction peaks significantly in specific countries:
- Vietnam: 89% of prompts are in Vietnamese.
- Thailand: 87% of prompts are in Thai.
- Indonesia: 84% of prompts are in local dialects. [1, 6, 10, 11]
The Multilingual Exception: The Philippines stands out as the inverse regional trend, where 90% of user prompts are submitted in English due to high widespread multilingual comfort. [12]

A Mobile-First, Multimodal Reality

Rather than interacting with standard text interfaces, Southeast Asian users are uniquely utilizing Gemini’s advanced sensory capabilities. [6, 13]

Smartphone Dominance: Roughly 75% of all regional Gemini queries originate directly from mobile devices. In Indonesia, this rises to an 82% mobile-first framework. [1, 10]
Bypassing the Keyboard: Because native language communication feels more natural spoken aloud or visualized, over 40% of queries use multimodal inputs like voice commands, photos, and video uploads. [6, 13]
Voice-Only Conversations: More than 10% of prompts are completely voice-driven, utilizing fluid real-time conversational features like Gemini Live to translate localized street signs or troubleshoot chores hands-free. [6, 14]

Creative and Academic Hub

The region’s young demographics (where nearly 40% of the population is under 25) treat the AI as a direct creator and research companion. [2, 3, 15, 16]

Massive Creative Output: 40% of all user queries focus on original generation. Across Southeast Asia, users generated 5 billion images using the Nano Banana model over the past year. They also created nearly 1 million songs following the release of the Lyria 3 music generation engine. [1, 6, 10]
Academic Dominance in Vietnam: Vietnam has emerged as the regional leader for educational AI use. Over 160,000 students utilize Gemini’s Exam Prep feature monthly, while educators submit over 55,000 daily teaching-related prompts. [1, 17, 18]
Highest Engagement in Singapore: Singapore boasts the highest per capita Gemini adoption globally, with power users prompting the app an average of 10 times per day. On weekdays, 40% of its usage is purely professional code debugging and development. [1, 8, 11]

Localized AI Expansion

Google is moving rapidly to transition Gemini from a simple chat assistant into a localized, proactive automation partner across the region. [17, 19]

Gemini Spark Regional Rollout: Google’s 24/7 proactive companion agent, Gemini Spark, is currently expanding its language support beyond English to roll out in all native Southeast Asian languages for Advanced/Ultra subscribers. This allows local-language automation directly across Google Workspace tools like Gmail, Docs, and Slides. [7, 8, 17, 19]
Visual Overhaul: The application has received a highly fluid new visual design framework termed “Neural Expressive” to suit fast-paced mobile creators. [9, 19]
In-Chat Shopping: Users in Indonesia, the Philippines, Thailand, and Vietnam can now transition natively from brainstorming ideas into a live browsing interface complete with regional pricing, web-wide comparison tables, and shoppable product cards. [19]