From 24/7 virtual brokers to supply chain optimization, 61 percent of AI-using firms report revenue growth, showing that strategic tech investment delivers real return on investment (ROI) in 2026.

At 3-4 am, an investor calls a securities company’s hotline to ask about fluctuations in their account. Instead of an out-of-office notice or a request to wait, a natural-sounding voice immediately responds, providing detailed guidance and fully resolving the request.

Behind the call is not a night-shift employee but a Virtual Assistant operating 24/7 at the securities company. Integrating this system helps the company handle 80 percent of inquiries, reduce waiting time by 70 percent and fill knowledge gaps for new staff.

This is a clear illustration amid the ongoing market debate: Are businesses "burning money" on monthly AI subscription fees, or are they actually reaping profits?

A market report from the cloud computing platform Amazon Web Services (AWS) shows a bright picture of the cost-benefit equation. 

Eric Yeo, General Manager of AWS Vietnam, said: "Around 78 percent of organizations globally use at least one AI function in their business operations, and 50 percent have put it into actual production. Up to 40 percent of enterprises reported improved labor productivity, and three-quarters of organizations have actually met or even exceeded their ROI (Return on Investment) targets."

In Vietnam, he noted that the AI application growth rate reached 39 percent year-on-year. Specifically, 61 percent of businesses using AI confirmed revenue growth, and 58 percent expect significant savings in operating costs. The FSI (Financial Services Industry) sector currently leads the transformation speed due to the pressure to optimize customer experience, followed by manufacturing, gaming startups, and content creation.

Optimizing costs and generating profits

The financial impact of AI can be divided into two clear streams: reducing internal costs and expanding the customer base to boost revenue.

A food company needs to translate a large volume of documents for its exports to demanding markets such as Japan and the UK to comply with industry standards such as HACCP and ISO. 

Previously, this work was done by humans, causing high costs, delays and risks of errors. By applying Amazon Translate and the Claude LLM language model on a cloud platform, the company reduced translation time by 75 percent and saved 45 percent of interpretation and translation costs.

Commenting on this decision, Eric Yeo said: “Businesses do not want to spend time manually translating documents. Their core activity is engaging customers and improving food quality rather than handling paperwork. AI helps them optimize time for those tasks.”

In the technology sector, based on AWS Nova Act, Katalon developed AI-integrated software testing solutions, building an entire product ecosystem with AI as the core foundation. With the Katalon Scout solution, the company’s customers reduce testing time by 60 percent and shorten each software development cycle by up to 25 hours.

Tran Kien Uy, CEO of Katalon, said that being present on AWS Marketplace allows businesses to access advanced testing tools, thereby accelerating innovation and improving software reliability.

Similarly, a domestic dairy group has applied machine learning to solve the complex problem of supply-demand forecasting. Data from machine-learning models helps the system better understand market demand and optimize distribution processes. When the supply chain runs smoothly and delivery time is shortened, more products reach consumers, directly improving sales.

Workforce barriers and shifting investment

When the profitability of technology has been proven, the question for businesses, especially SMEs, is how to deploy it effectively.

Many business leaders worry about system risks, but experts say this is not the main bottleneck. Hieu Hoang, Director of Solutions Architecture at AWS, said: “Security is always the top priority and the core prerequisite in building and developing services as well as advising customers.” Before deploying applications into production environments, companies must ensure security, operational stability and cost efficiency.

The core challenge today lies in workforce skills. The shift from pure question-and-answer AI to the era of Agentic AI requires workers to change the way they work. Technology does not automatically generate profits if employees do not know how to use it.

Clarifying this view, AWS Vietnam General Manager Eric Yeo emphasized: “Beyond technology and finance, a critical factor CEOs care about is developing skills and retaining talent. Any company can buy technology, but the capability of its workforce creates the difference.”

According to him, without investing time in developing local talent and skills, AI adoption cannot be accelerated. Since 2017, AWS has trained more than 100,000 Vietnamese professionals in cloud and AI skills and is moving toward equipping people with advanced AI capabilities.

Thai Khang