Latest findings reveal that Singapore businesses are embracing AI agents to scale workforce capabilities
- Emerging capacity crisis: 81% of Singapore’s workforce lacks sufficient time or energy for their work, highlighting the urgent need for AI solutions
- Intelligence on tap to fill the capacity gap: 82% of leaders in Singapore express confidence in using AI agents to expand workforce capacity within in the next 12–18 months
- Human-agent teams will upend the organizational chart: Leaders expect to introduce AI agents across teams while adding new AI-focussed roles for employees
Singapore, 29 April 2025 – New data released today from Microsoft’s 2025 Work Trend Index reveals how the rise of AI-driven intelligent agents in Singapore is redefining the traditional organizational chart and transforming knowledge work across every job level – from the C-suite to frontline workers.
The latest data exposes a widening capacity gap in Singapore, with 58% of leaders saying productivity must increase, but 81% of the workforce – both employees and leaders – saying they lack enough time or energy to do their work. This is supported by Microsoft 365 telemetry data, which shows that on average, employees are interrupted every 2 minutes by meetings, emails, or pings.
However, with the rise of agents that can reason, plan, and act as digital labor, roles and organizations will reshape to scale capacity as needed. Already, 85% of leaders say this is a pivotal year to rethink core strategies and operations, while 82% are planning to use agents to expand workforce capacity in the next 12-18 months.
“AI is fundamentally changing the way we work across Asia, making organizations smarter, faster, and more impactful,” says Andrea Della Mattea, President of Microsoft ASEAN. “In Singapore, we’re seeing incredible readiness and commitment to AI, with 82% of leaders ready to scale with AI agents and 80% planning to create AI-focused roles. By prioritizing upskilling, leaders are also ensuring their teams can effectively leverage AI, which is essential for maintaining a competitive edge and driving innovation. This proactive approach is putting Singapore at the forefront of AI-driven transformation in the region.”
Intelligence on tap fills the capacity gap
The rise of AI means intelligence is no longer bound by headcount or expertise, but has become an essential durable good: abundant, affordable, and scalable on-demand. As AI continues to democratize access to expertise, the data shows an evolution from rigid and hierarchical organizational charts to more fluid “Work Charts”, where teams are formed around outcomes rather than siloed functions like marketing or finance.
With agents acting as research assistants, analysts, or creative partners, companies can deploy lean, high-impact teams on demand. In fact, more than half of Singapore leaders (56%) are already using agents to fully automate workstreams or business processes, well-above the global average (46%).
But to maximize impact, organizations need to achieve the right ratio of human and digital labor for specific tasks. The report highlights that employees in Singapore turn to AI not to replace human value, but to access capabilities humans can’t provide: 24/7 availability (39%), machine-driven speed and quality (30%), and unlimited ideas on demand (27%). Almost half of employees in Singapore now treat AI as a thought partner (47%) while slightly more still treat it as a command-based tool (51%).
Human-agent teams will upend the organizational chart
The Work Trend Index report points to the emergence of Frontier Firms – a new type of organization powered by hybrid teams of humans and agents – as proving what’s possible by scaling faster, moving with greater agility, and creating value in new ways. Workers and leaders at these Frontier Firms are more than twice as likely to say their companies are thriving and that they can take on additional work. They are also more likely to report having opportunities to do meaningful work.
Within the next two to five years, every organization is expected to begin the journey toward becoming a Frontier Firm. 40% of leaders in Singapore say expanding capacity with digital labor is a top priority in the next 12-18 months, second only to upskilling (47%). In addition to agents, 80% of leaders also say their company is considering adding new AI-focused roles to prepare for the future, such as AI agent specialists, AI trainers and AI workforce managers.
Every employee will become an agent boss
In this new landscape, every employee has the potential to become an “agent boss” – amplifying their impact by skillfully delegating to and managing teams of specialized AI agents. From the boardroom to the frontline, success will increasingly depend on thinking like the CEO of an agent-powered startup.
Business leaders in Singapore are ahead of the curve, with 80% of leaders report being highly familiar with AI agents, compared to just 41% of employees. To bridge this gap, 51% of managers expect AI training or upskilling to become a core responsibility for their teams in the next five years. Within the same period, leaders in Singapore expect their team’s scope to include redesigning business processes with AI (36%), building multi-agent systems to automate complex tasks (46%), as well as training and managing agents (37% and 39% respectively).
Looking Ahead
The findings suggest APAC’s early adoption of AI agents, with 53% of the region’s leaders already using agents to fully automate business processes, well-above the global average of 46%, could translate into significant competitive advantages over the next decade. From the boardroom to the frontline, success will increasingly involve skillfully delegating to and managing teams of specialized AI agents.
Organizations embracing the Frontier Firm model are positioned to outperform traditional competitors in innovation speed, operational efficiency, and talent attraction.
Read the global 2025 Work Trend Index on Worklab or visit the Microsoft 365 Blog to learn more about related product announcements. For all Work Trend Index blogs, videos, and assets, please visit our microsite.
Asia Pacific markets in the study include Australia, China, Hong Kong, India, Indonesia, Japan, Malaysia, New Zealand, Philippines, Singapore, South Korea, Taiwan, Thailand and Vietnam.
About Work Trend Index
The Work Trend Index survey was conducted by an independent research firm, Edelman Data x Intelligence, among 31,000 knowledge workers across 31 countries between 6 February 2025 and 24 March 2025. This survey was 20 minutes in length and conducted online, either in the English language or translated to local languages across markets. In addition to survey data, qualitative insights were derived from conversations with AI-native startups, economists, futurists, scientists, and academics. These insights were enriched by a broader review of existing literature on AI’s impact on the workplace.
About Microsoft
Microsoft (Nasdaq “MSFT” @microsoft) creates platforms and tools powered by AI to deliver innovative solutions that meet the evolving needs of our customers. The technology company is committed to making AI available broadly and doing so responsibly, with a mission to empower every person and every organization on the planet to achieve more.