Singapore agentic AI adoption rises to 51% in 2026

Agentic AI adoption among Singapore enterprises rose to 51% in 2026 from 22% a year earlier, according to a ServiceNow survey of 200 senior leaders in Singapore.

The study found that most organisations are still using AI to support individual workers rather than redesigning end-to-end processes. While 33% said they use AI to help employees with day-to-day tasks, only 10% said they had reworked processes so AI could complete multi-step business tasks from end to end.

Another 18% of Singapore enterprises reported no progress on advanced AI adoption, above the global average of 11%. The split suggests many companies are still at an early stage, even as adoption rates climb sharply.

Singapore's overall AI maturity score rose to 53 out of 100 from 34 the previous year, putting it above the global average of 51. It also surpassed its earlier peak of 45.

That rebound was tied to investment in core systems, governance and workflow integration. The data showed that 23% of enterprises had replaced legacy technology with newer platforms, compared with 16% globally, while 28% had formal processes for testing, auditing and managing AI risk, versus 20% globally.

Across business functions, 25% of Singapore organisations said they were already integrating AI workflows, compared with 16% globally. Even so, the country lagged on the measure tracking whether AI is built into day-to-day business operations.

"Singapore enterprises have rebuilt important foundations for AI and that progress is showing up in the numbers," said CK Tan, APJ Innovation Officer, ServiceNow. "But adoption and transformation are not the same thing. Helping individuals work faster has value. Redesigning how work moves across the enterprise is where AI starts to change business outcomes."

Budget pressure

AI spending also continued to rise. The report said 15.4% of IT budgets in Singapore is now allocated to AI, close to the global average of 15.8%, after a year-on-year increase of 108%.

Companies in Singapore expect AI spending to rise by a further 83% next year, slightly ahead of the global projection of 81%. Both local and global AI budget shares are on course to reach about 20% by 2027, the study said.

The main challenge, ServiceNow argued, is not whether companies are spending, but where the money is going. Stronger returns depend on redesigning workflows rather than simply adding more AI tools to existing processes.

"Singapore is investing at almost the same pace as the global average," Tan said. "The issue is where the next dollar goes. Singapore is ahead on foundations, but weaker on embedding AI into daily operations. If the next wave of investment goes mainly into tools rather than workflow redesign, the maturity gap will widen instead of close."

Data hurdles

The survey pointed to data quality, access, privacy and security as major barriers. Some 68% of Singapore executives cited inadequate data accuracy and access as a top AI challenge, while 58% pointed to data privacy and security.

Those concerns suggest many businesses are still working through the practical demands of applying AI at scale, despite policy support and rising budgets. The report linked that gap to the broader question of how quickly strong technical foundations can translate into measurable productivity gains.

Tan said governance remained central as organisations moved from pilots to wider deployment. "The governance framework Singapore has built is genuinely world-leading," he said. "What the data shows is that most enterprises are still working toward what it asks of them. Getting the right oversight and risk processes in place before AI systems are operating at scale is the most important step Singapore enterprises can take right now."

Early examples

Standard Chartered was cited in the study as one company that has reworked an internal process around AI. The bank reviewed its colleague onboarding journey, mapped each stage and reassigned tasks based on where human judgment was needed and where technology could take over.

The changes are expected to cut onboarding effort for hiring managers by 35% and deliver about 20% productivity gains across HR teams, the bank said.

"Long before we deployed AI, we invested in understanding our people, their relationship with technology, appetite for change, and familiarity with AI both inside and outside the workplace," said Melinda McKinley, Chief Operating Officer, Strategy and Talent, Standard Chartered. "That research shaped what came next. When you know where friction exists and why, you can apply automation and AI with precision. The goal is not to layer new technology onto existing challenges, but to redesign experiences in ways that genuinely improve how work gets done for both colleagues and clients."

External analysts said the focus in Singapore has moved beyond initial adoption. "Singapore has largely solved the question of AI adoption. The organisations that pull ahead from here will be those that integrate and prioritise AI through their established investment and portfolio management frameworks. These disciplines have long underpinned the nation's success in digital transformation. The opportunity now is to embed it systematically into the existing work of the enterprise," said Peter Carr, Director and Principal Analyst, Councilio.