The growth of AI in Southeast Asia is impacting the B2B sales landscape, with business-to-business transactions occurring more often through digital channels. This trend began in 2020 when the COVID-19 pandemic spread, making traditional sales approaches unworkable. The young and tech-savvy population can access products and services via the internet.

Sectors like B2B in Southeast Asia benefit from AI adoption because it will create jobs, boost productivity, increase efficiency, enable more significant innovation, and attract foreign investment. Furthermore, artificial intelligence helps to generate content, provide live translation tools, and offer customer support through chatbots.

We look at how data-driven IT modernisation is transforming sustainable growth for Asia

For B2B companies, its impact is in reshaping the sales process, automating lead generation, performing email marketing, tracking inventories, and providing sales forecasting and past quarter reports. It can engage and guide customers through the buyer’s journey, responding to queries and providing links to support pages or notifying a sales agent to talk to the prospect.

Additionally, AI can maintain B2B customer relationships, remind sales teams to network, promote new products or services, or personalise experiences.

Factors driving AI adoption in Southeast Asia’s B2B market

Analytics platform SAS commissioned the IDC Data and AI Pulse: Asia Pacific 2024 study, which found that only 23% of Southeast Asian organisations use AI to transform their market. The Artificial Intelligence market in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) is experiencing rapid growth and is on target to reach USD 30.30 billion by 2030.

Here are a few reasons regional companies are adopting AI:

  • Digitalisation push: Since the COVID-19 pandemic, ASEAN has expedited the digitisation of its government and industries to usher in a tech-powered economy that addresses citizens’ needs. Businesses are integrating various technologies to bring efficiency, productivity, and innovation to diverse markets.
  • Efficiency and scalability needs: AI enables companies to make decisions faster by analysing large data sets and providing actionable insights to founders and managers. Machine learning tech can identify customer preferences and behaviours, enabling companies to personalise their services.
  • Government policies: Regional governments have adopted policies and regulations that embrace AI’s transformative power. These rules encourage investments that fund business operations and boost research and innovation. In turn, artificial intelligence enables companies to identify market needs and develop products and services that other organisations seek.
  • Skilled labour demands: AI is changing Southeast Asia’s labour market, streamlining the recruitment processes, hiring more women, identifying employee reskilling needs, and offering new job roles. By using artificial intelligence tools, companies in the B2B sector can hire top candidates who can contribute by increasing sales.

Barriers to adopting AI in ASEAN

Even though AI can boost sales for B2B companies, adopting the technology poses several challenges:

  • Data privacy and cybersecurity: AI processes a lot of data; extra care is necessary to ensure the information does not leak to outside sources because it may contain employees’ details. Each B2B company must have robust cybersecurity tools and policies in place to prevent data theft or compromise.
  • Integration with legacy systems: It is not easy to marry legacy and modern systems. The same issue arises when introducing artificial intelligence to companies using older or traditional tools to provide their services. The most common businesses facing these issues are financial institutions, which are now working on adopting digital technologies to replace their former solutions.
  • High costs: Adopting AI to increase B2B sales can be too expensive for smaller businesses. They must first seek investments to finance the installation of the technology and train employees on how to use it effectively.
  • Inadequate skilled talent: While AI removes discrimination and highlights the best candidates for a job, ASEAN continues to struggle with skilled labour shortages. Thus, the B2B space has room for growth to train and develop experienced workers in the sector.
  • Energy demands: Finally, businesses may struggle to power AI because it uses up a lot of energy, and the cost of fossil fuels is high. The government must help companies by building adequate infrastructure even in remote areas and incorporating clean energy.

Evolving role of AI in B2B sales

AI adoption in B2B in Southeast Asia will revolutionise the sector. According to research and advisory experts Gartner, in 2025, 80% of future sales interactions between buyers and suppliers will happen through online tech platforms. With the help of artificial intelligence, companies can study the market, gain valuable insights, maintain contact with customers, and plan how to sell more.

B2B sales will increase as AI in Southeast Asia continues evolving. Businesses can expect faster solutions, more customer-oriented solutions, and productive and streamlined sales and marketing teams. The technology will disrupt the markets in the coming years, predicting customer behaviour and upskilling workers to sell more. Thus, leaders must remain agile and encourage employees to embrace the new technology.