Shopee says AI chatbots now handle 80% of customer queries

Southeast Asia has about 243 million generative AI users, and very few of them pay for it. The money is coming from businesses instead, and the clearest example in the new e-Conomy SEA report is Shopee, the e-commerce platform, which now routes roughly 80% of customer queries through AI chatbots.

The report, released by Google, Temasek and Bain & Company, says adoption has reached about 58% of the working population in under three years, roughly four times faster than mobile internet took. Only 1% to 2% of people pay for personal AI subscriptions, so the commercial value is showing up elsewhere: better conversion rates in online shopping, sharper digital advertising targeting, and voice-assisted bookings for ride-hailing and food delivery.

Shopee's reported result is a 30% drop in cost per customer contact year on year. Bain's Florian Hoppe also cites early case studies in which AI lifted conversion rates by 10% and boosted average order value by as much as 75%. Those are company-reported figures from a report with a sales pitch for the region, so treat them as directional until someone publishes the baseline.

There is also a catch. Usage per person in the region is still about 10% of US levels, and the report's 75% figure for users willing to let AI agents buy on their behalf is a survey answer, not a purchase record. For retailers, travel firms and ad-driven platforms in Southeast Asia, the question is no longer whether customers will use AI, but which of these workflows to measure first.