The study, which aimed to shed light on trends in AI adoption across Asia Pacific, also found that across the region, more than half (53%) of those surveyed reported that their biggest challenge in adopting AI technologies is gathering and integrating big data. This demonstrates that enterprises are still struggling to cope with the growing volume of business data -- more than ten years after the term "big data" was first coined.

"Artificial intelligence is the key to digital business; it has the potential to transform everything from business operations to the customer experience," the study stated. "By leveraging big data-driven AI platforms, enterprises can deliver business value throughout the entire customer life cycle."

According to the study, Indonesia ranks first in terms of AI implementation (65%), followed by China (63%) and India (62%). These three topped more developed economies such as South Korea (57%), Singapore (50%), Japan (47%) and Taiwan (44%).

However, the survey revealed that the gap is poised to narrow in the coming year: a higher percentage of respondents in mature economies reported plans to implement AI technologies in the next 12 months. Plans to implement AI technologies are highest in Australia (35%), followed by Singapore (31%) and Taiwan (28%).