Over 60% of Singapore businesses use AI daily: survey

HubSpot said a survey of 736 business leaders in Singapore found 64% use AI in daily workflows, but only 18% use fully autonomous AI agents.

The company said the top barriers to scaling AI were trust and reliability (43%) and data quality and integration (37%).

Leaders using more advanced AI also cited legacy systems and skills gaps.

HubSpot said 43% of respondents expect AI agents to become highly important within 12 to 24 months, while 28% are already investing.

Another 30% said clearer business results would make them more willing to spend more.

The survey was commissioned by HubSpot and conducted by Lonergan Research from February 19 to March 5 among leaders at Singapore companies with at least 50 employees.

🔗 Source: HubSpot

🧠 Food for thought

Implications, context, and why it matters.

Singapore’s government is directly addressing AI adoption barriers business leaders cite

The survey arrived as Singapore’s 2026 Budget tackles AI roadblocks leaders raise, including trust concerns and skills gaps 1.
For the 30% of leaders waiting for clearer business results before raising AI budgets, Singapore will start the “Champions of AI” program. It will offer enterprise transformation help plus workforce training 1.
To cut adoption risk, the budget widened the Enterprise Innovation Scheme, a tax incentive program for business innovation, to cover AI spending. Qualifying costs get a 400% tax deduction, capped at S$50,000 (US$39,000) a year in 2027 and 2028 1.
To close skills gaps, Singapore redesigned AI learning pathways. Singaporeans who join selected AI courses get six months of free access to premium AI tools, with a focus on hands-on practice 1.

The rise of AI agents redefines the role of business software

Wide AI use alongside limited autonomous agent rollout ties to a common hurdle. Companies struggle to turn AI outputs into measurable results 2.
HubSpot says generic AI models miss business context such as customer history or team workflows. That context often sits in separate software tools 2.
More firms are moving from customer relationship management (CRM) systems that mainly store records to platforms billed as systems of context. These systems pull together customer data plus company context for employees or AI agents 2.
Attention is shifting from the AI model to the platform that supplies context for specific tasks. One customer example reported 70% to 80% of email support tickets were resolved automatically 3.