70 Per Cent of Gen Z and Millennials in Indonesia Utilise AI for Side Hustles

The use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) is becoming increasingly integrated into the lives of the younger generation. Beyond merely searching for information or assisting with primary tasks, AI is now being utilised to support productive activities and manage side hustles. This phenomenon was a key topic of discussion during ‘The OmniBook Clubhouse’ event, organised by HP Indonesia in collaboration with Intel.

During the event, HP presented internal research findings showing high levels of AI usage among Indonesian workers. It was reported that 95 per cent of workers in Indonesia have used AI, with 50 per cent using it on a daily basis. Notably, approximately 70 per cent of Gen Z and Millennials leverage AI for side hustles or additional work.

This usage pattern indicates that AI is becoming a staple of Gen Z’s routine, whether for their primary jobs or side hustles, such as generating ideas, creating content, organising tasks, and accelerating various daily activities.

Edo Jonathan Chandra, Consumer Personal System Category Manager at HP Indonesia, views this trend as a shift in how users interact with devices, where AI is now present to support diverse needs rather than just completing specific tasks. “AI is no longer just for major tasks. Gen Z also uses it to assist with daily activities and side hustues, so the devices used must be able to support these needs more practically,” said Edo.

Edo Jonathan Chandra also noted that technological advancements are changing user requirements for hardware. According to him, users no longer look solely at specifications, but also at the experience the device can provide. “In the past, everyone only looked at specs—large memory, large storage, and that was it. But there is more to it than that,” he stated during the event.

Through the OmniBook line, HP introduced several AI-based features and sensors to support user activities. ‘Smart Sensing’ can learn laptop usage patterns to adjust power requirements, ensuring resource consumption is optimised according to the current activity.

Meanwhile, ‘Presence Sensing’ allows the laptop to recognise the user’s presence, automatically turning off the screen when left unattended and reactivating it upon the user’s return. Additionally, ‘Look to Move’ enables users to move the cursor between screens simply by shifting their gaze, making device interaction more seamless.

Another introduced feature is ‘Task Group’, designed for users with work routines involving the same set of applications. Users can save several applications into a single group and open them simultaneously via a shortcut; even background applications can be saved within this setting.

HP also introduced a ‘Wellbeing’ feature that monitors user habits when facing a screen. This feature can provide warnings when the user is too close to the screen and provides monitoring regarding body posture.

This suite of features demonstrates how AI development in devices is being directed not only to generate content or follow commands but also to assist user activities directly. Amidst the increasing use of AI for work and side hustles, such features represent a fundamental change in how the younger generation interacts with technology. Laptops are no longer just tools for running applications, but are beginning to act as devices that can adapt to the user’s habits.