Singapore Workers Ranked World's Second-Most Active AI Users, Microsoft Report Finds
Source: The Star
Singapore employees are among the world's most active and responsible users of artificial intelligence, ranking second globally on Microsoft's 2026 Work Trend Index, with 66 percent of AI users producing work they could not have created a year ago.
Singapore employees are among the world's most active and responsible users of artificial intelligence, ranking second globally on Microsoft's 2026 Work Trend Index, with 66 percent of AI users in the city-state now producing work they could not have created a year ago — well above the global average of 58 percent.
The report, based on data from Microsoft 365 and LinkedIn, reveals a workforce that has embraced AI faster than almost any other country. Among the most advanced cohort — what Microsoft calls "Frontier Professionals" — the figure surges to 82 percent. Critically, 88 percent of Singapore workers say they remain responsible for the thinking behind their work, compared with the global average of 86 percent, signalling that adoption has not come at the cost of human judgment. Over half of respondents identified critical thinking as the most essential skill in an AI-driven workplace.
Yet the report also highlights a significant leadership gap. While 78 percent of Singapore workers recognise the urgency to adapt to AI, only 24 percent believe their organisation's leadership is clearly aligned on an AI strategy — a figure that actually trails the global average of 26 percent. Wee Luen Chia, Managing Director of Microsoft Singapore, described the city-state's workforce as "among the most AI-ready in the world," but the data suggests organisations are struggling to match the pace set by their employees.
Why it matters for Singapore: The findings confirm that Singapore's bet on AI adoption — through programmes like SkillsFuture, the National AI Strategy 2.0, and IMDA's digital literacy initiatives — is paying off at the individual worker level. But the leadership lag is a warning sign. If organisational strategy fails to keep pace with grassroots adoption, companies risk fragmentation, shadow AI use, and missed opportunities to deploy AI at scale. The next phase of Singapore's AI journey will need to focus as much on management capability as on individual proficiency.