Indonesia's Top-Tier Workers Twice as AI-Savvy as Global Average

Jakarta, CNBC Indonesia - A significant 33% of Indonesian workers now fall into the category of ‘frontier professionals’, a term for advanced users of artificial intelligence (AI). This figure is more than double the global average of 16%, positioning Indonesia among the leading nations for AI utilisation in the workplace.

Senior Cloud and AI Platform Go to Market Lead for Microsoft ASEAN, Fiki Setiyono, shared the findings during the Work Trend Index 2026 Indonesia Media Briefing in Jakarta on Tuesday (30/6/2026). ‘The insight is that 33% of AI users in Indonesia are already in the frontier professionals category. This is very encouraging because 33% is more than double the global average of 16%,’ he stated.

The research indicates that Indonesian workers are not only quick to adopt AI but are also beginning to use it in a more focused and responsible manner to generate higher-value work. ‘The common thread is that these frontier professionals do not fully outsource their thinking; they do not surrender their judgement entirely. Instead, they use their critical thinking skills to get the best results from AI agent capabilities, expanding their thinking and capacity, but not replacing their judgement,’ Setiyono explained.

The impact is already evident. A total of 72% of AI users in Indonesia reported that they are now capable of producing work they could not have done a year ago, a figure higher than the global average of 58%. Among frontier professionals, this number rises to 82%. These findings suggest that more mature AI utilisation correlates with the ability to produce more complex and higher-value work.

Despite the massive adoption of AI, the report emphasises that the human role is becoming increasingly critical. The deeper AI is integrated into workflows, the greater the need for human capabilities to direct, evaluate, and make final decisions. When asked about the most important skills in the AI era, Indonesian respondents prioritised critical thinking at 62%, significantly above the global average of 46%. Furthermore, 60% considered quality control over AI outputs to be an increasingly vital skill, compared to the global average of 50%.

Daily usage patterns also reflect this approach. A total of 93% of AI users in Indonesia view AI-generated output as a starting point rather than a final answer, consistently placing themselves as the party responsible for the thought process and the final result. This figure surpasses the global average of 86%, demonstrating that Indonesian workers do not see AI as a replacement for human capability but as a partner to enhance work quality, reflecting a high awareness of responsible AI use.