Agoda's AI Developer Report 2025 found that 90% of developers in Southeast Asia and India use AI weekly. However, only 43% believe it can perform at the level of a mid-level engineer.
Developer confidence
Scepticism in Southeast Asian countries was also above the regional average, like Thailand (48%), India (47%), the Philippines (45%), and Singapore (44%).
Some developers in the Philippines (11%), Singapore (7%), Vietnam (7%), Thailand (7%), and India (5%) believe AI cannot match the quality of mid-level developers today.
The majority of developers (79%) cite unreliable results as the most significant barrier to deeper AI integration. As a result, two-thirds say they constantly review AI-generated code before merging and rework outputs until they reach standards.
Instead of reducing accountability, the Report finds that AI use has increased the emphasis on review and human oversight. Verification and ownership have become more prominent in daily development work, with engineers retaining responsibility for outcomes. Confidence, for now, is conditional, built through repetition, testing, and experience rather than assumed by default.
"The next differentiator will not be who adopts AI first, but who builds a clear framework around it for consistent and productive usage," said Idan Zalzberg, chief technology officer at Agoda. "Southeast Asia and India's strengths lie in speed and adaptability. Developers are advancing AI adoption with peer oversight and disciplined practices, but the next step is to pair that momentum with enhanced confidence in its capabilities."
