‘Enterprises prioritize AI but do not apply it deeply’

The above information is stated in the survey report “Level of readiness for team capacity of Vietnamese enterprises 2026” recently published by the human resources solutions provider Talentnet Academy. The survey was conducted with 161 businesses in 17 industries, from finance, technology, manufacturing to real estate, agriculture…

According to Mr. Nguyen Minh Tam – Director of Talentnet Academy, businesses operating in Vietnam (including domestic and multinational businesses) have passed the stage of awareness of the importance of AI to enter the adaptation period. AI becomes a factor that directly affects the way we work and operate, forcing businesses to redefine other required capabilities.

31% of businesses participating in the survey said AI is one of their strategic priorities, alongside revenue growth, market diversity and optimizing operational performance. However, the gap between the declaration and the actual application of this technology is still very large. Only about 3% (or 5 businesses) self-assess that they are ready to master AI technology in the future. Meanwhile, the rest said this is still fragmented or just at the stage of getting used to and gradually developing.

According to Mr. Darren Cheng, Growth Director of job social network LinkedIn, the proportion of Vietnamese businesses applying AI is increasing, but most only stop at basic tasks such as drafting emails, correcting spelling errors, sketching ideas and compiling meeting documents.

To overcome this threshold, Mr. Cheng believes that businesses should approach AI multi-dimensionally. In terms of breadth, AI is not just about the IT or human resources department but needs to touch every role in the organization. In terms of depth, each position needs to be equipped with different levels of AI skills, appropriate to the specifics of the job. For example, instead of writing programming code themselves, employees are now turning to Agentic AI to do their work but focus on critical thinking and in-depth data analysis.

“Businesses cannot just train once and then stop, but need to build a long-term talent roadmap and recruit the right people from the beginning, because AI is not a temporary trend but a new state of the labor market,” LinkedIn experts recommended.

Sharing the same opinion, Mr. Nguyen Minh Tam said that in the current context, businesses have an advantage over their competitors not because they know a lot about AI, but because they apply this technology extensively and deeply to optimize operational performance. The business does not lack ambition, but it has not done well because its existing capacity has not kept up with the speed and demand for expansion.

Mr. Tam assessed that middle management is the group under the greatest pressure in applying AI in businesses. This is the force that plays the role of connecting strategy with daily operations, but must adapt to completely new job requirements: instead of just monitoring KPIs, they need to become team coaches and manage AI tasks.

According to LinkedIn statistics, the number of AI-related job postings in Vietnam from the end of last year to now has increased by about 60%, among the highest in the region. However, the rate of hiring talented people in this field is less than 3%.

A positive sign is that Vietnamese workers are proactively changing to adapt to the increasing demands for AI application skills from businesses. LinkedIn data shows that 84% of workers believe AI will have a positive impact on their career, thereby updating themselves with new knowledge related to this field.