Efforts to connect national digital & develop AI for Vietnamese people

In 2024, Vietnam's information technology market will record impressive growth, with 78.8% of the population using the Internet and 75.2% participating in social networks, far exceeding the global average of 63.9%, according to the We Are Social 2025 report.

Mr. Vuong Quang Khai - Co-founder, Senior Permanent Deputy General Director of VNG

In this context, Zalo continues to maintain its position as the leading communication tool in Vietnam with 77.8 million regular users. The platform also leads in usage rate (85%) according to the latest report by Decision Lab. Notably, about 20% of Zalo users are using AI-related features.

In particular, with the determination of the Party and Government in shaping and promoting the era of technological development of the country, demonstrated through Resolution 57-NQ/TW (Breakthrough in the development of Science, Technology, Innovation and National Digital Transformation) and Decree 147/2024/ND-CP (Creating a transparent, safe and responsible social network space), Zalo is actively affirming its pioneering role, making an important contribution to the promotion of digital transformation and digital economy in Vietnam.

In addition to increasing AI integration into products in the ecosystem, investing in research and development of AI-first products is a key focus at Zalo. With the aspiration for Vietnamese people to master new technology, the large language model trained by Zalo from the beginning has been applied to develop many useful features for Vietnamese people. Kiki Info - a general chatbot - has been launched to Zalo users since January 2025, serving the needs of Q&A, content editing, and consulting for Vietnamese people in many areas of life. Kiki Auto - an in-car assistant that helps perform voice-controlled tasks with two outstanding features: listening to music and giving directions - has had more than 1 million installations, equivalent to 20% of the car market share in Vietnam.

Zalo platform, with 2 outstanding products, Zalo Official Account and Zalo Mini App, has been accompanying many organizations, businesses, and government agencies in the digital transformation process. At the same time, Zalo also actively demonstrates its role to the community and society. During Typhoon Yagi alone, there were 143 million emergency messages sent to people.

The “national” messaging platform

With the top priority of ensuring stable and reliable communication and interaction between Vietnamese people, Zalo continues to win the hearts of users and is the national application in the hearts of Vietnamese people. Specifically, by the end of December 2024, Zalo had nearly 78 million monthly active users, with nearly 2 billion messages sent every day - the highest number ever.

Zalo is proud to maintain its No. 1 position for 16 consecutive quarters as the most favorite messaging platform in Vietnam (According to Decision Lab) and is recognized by multiple generations of users, from work to entertainment and connection. Data for the third quarter of 2024 shows that the percentage of Zalo users in Gen X, Gen Y and Gen Z are all outstanding, with 75%, 56% and 40% respectively, higher than Messenger and Facebook.

2024 is a turning point for Zalo in providing high-quality value-added services to users. This not only enhances user experience with many premium features but also helps the application diversify its revenue sources and grow sustainably. The proportion of new revenue from VAS and Business Services (non-ad revenue) to total revenue has doubled compared to 2023.

Services such as zCloud (optimized storage service for Zalo), zStyle (personal page personalization) and zBusiness (advanced personal accounts with extended features for work needs) are currently contributing effectively. Thanks to the ability to handle technology problems for tens of millions of Vietnamese users and more than 17 years of experience serving the diverse needs of the domestic market, Zalo's media and entertainment products have also made a certain mark on the market.

Zalo Video - a product launched in August 2023 - recorded 35 million regular users in Q4/2024.

Digital transformation platform for businesses and organizations

In the context of digital transformation becoming a key driving force of the economy, Zalo has met the urgent needs of businesses and partners with a comprehensive solution package, including Zalo Official Account (OA) and Zalo Mini App. These solutions not only optimize business operations but also open the door to effectively approaching customers.

In the market, the trend of using mini apps in digital transformation will continue to explode in 2024, becoming an inevitable solution for businesses and governments. Statista's report (2024) shows that mini apps help save up to 40% of the cost of developing a separate application. With the ability to quickly access, be flexible and promote effectively, mini apps - especially Zalo Mini App - have been utilized by organizations, businesses and government agencies to connect with customers and people on the Zalo platform. By the end of 2024, Zalo recorded more than 13 million users regularly using Zalo Mini App with 3,465 active Mini Apps. At the same time, Zalo Official Account (Zalo OA) plays the role of a "digital bridge" between businesses, users and governments. With Zalo OA, businesses can set up “official” accounts to interact directly, build appropriate customer care and marketing programs, thereby increasing engagement with consumers. By the end of 2024, Zalo will have about 251,000 business packages paying monthly for OA services.

In addition, the Zalo ecosystem is also strengthened by advertising solutions, ZNS notification service, and banking services that support fast money transfers. Banking services in particular continue to grow well with 8.8 million monthly users. These initiatives not only improve business efficiency but also contribute to promoting sustainable development of enterprises in the digital age.

In the context of increasingly fierce competition and increasingly strict legal requirements on data and security, Zalo is constantly striving to innovate and maintain its pioneering role. Making the most of technology and complying with regulations such as Decree 147/ND-CP on cyberspace management will be the key for Zalo to continue leading digital transformation, not only for businesses but also for the Vietnamese community.

Mastering technology in the field of artificial intelligence (AI)

Vietnam's AI market is expected to increase from 999 million USD (2024) to 3.41 billion USD by 2030, with a CAGR of 27.85% (Statista, 2024), as the main driver of the digital economy - currently accounting for 16.5% of GDP and forecast to reach 20% by 2025 (Google, Temasek, Bain & Company).

Leading AI startups attract 8-15 million USD/project (OECD, 2024), with total FDI capital reaching 150 million USD (2022), making Vietnam an emerging technology hub in Southeast Asia.

On December 22, 2024, Resolution 57-NQ/TW was issued, emphasizing that science and technology development is a key driving force for economic growth, mastering advanced technology, especially AI, to enhance national competitiveness.

With Zalo, since 2017, when awareness of AI in Vietnam was still relatively primitive, Zalo has laid the foundation for a long-term AI strategy with the aspiration and belief that Vietnamese people can "master technology" in this field.

Over the past 8 years, Zalo has conducted research and mastered technology with 4 separate labs instead of using available foreign technology. The achievements to date are many features integrated into the application to serve a variety of users from young people to the elderly. Typical examples include converting text to speech, converting voice messages to text, composing text from voice (Dictation), translating text messages (Translation)... Currently, 20% of Zalo users use these features regularly every month.

By successfully training a large language model under limited conditions of investment, infrastructure, and equipment, Zalo has made Vietnam one of three countries in Southeast Asia to have its own LLM. The model currently has the same capacity as GPT-4 on the VMLU scale for from-scratch models.

VMLU's Vietnamese LLM rankings for training from the beginning of 2024.

With the desire to bring AI into the daily lives of Vietnamese people, Zalo constantly turns dry technology into unique features. Features such as AI Avatar and AI cards allow for personalized experiences, especially during holidays. In October 2024, Zalo AI's Gen AI technology supported VIB International Bank to issue more than 4,000 credit cards with personalized designs in just 2 days. This is a clear demonstration of the ability to apply AI in improving financial services and boosting business revenue. Also on October 20, 2024, Zalo recorded 5 million AI cards created, of which more than 2 million cards were sent, honoring Vietnamese Women's Day.

Zing MP3 - Vietnam's largest online music platform - is also benefiting from the integration of artificial intelligence. AI Recommendation currently generates 40% of the listening for this product.

In the advertising field, Adtima – a unit of the Zalo ecosystem – has pioneered the “AI-first” strategy. During the year, Adtima and Zalo AI were honored with the “Enabling Technology Company of the Year” award at Vietnam MMA Smarties 2024. This achievement affirms Zalo’s leading position in combining technology and communication, bringing real value to businesses.

Kiki Auto Assistant, launched in 2020, is another prominent example of Zalo's long-term AI strategy. Developed by a team of Vietnamese engineers, Kiki Auto leverages local cultural and linguistic expertise to provide a seamless interactive experience. By 2024, Kiki Auto will reach 1 million installations and usages in cars, nearly equivalent to the car sales rate in Vietnam (1,250 cars/day, according to VAMA and TC Motor, October 2024). This success not only affirms the real demand for Vietnamese AI assistants but also brings home the "Excellent Virtual Assistant 2024" award at the VnExpress Tech Awards.

In parallel with the application efforts, Zalo also contributes to the development of the Vietnamese AI community through VMLU (Vietnamese Multitask Language Understanding Benchmark Suite for Large Language Models), launched at the end of 2023. With 10,880 questions covering 58 topics from STEM to humanities, VMLU provides a comprehensive set of standards for evaluating large Vietnamese language models. In 2024, the platform recorded 45 large language models developed, attracting 155 organizations and individuals to participate, with 3,729 evaluations and 691 data downloads. This explosion shows the appeal of generative AI in Vietnam and the role of VMLU in promoting research and innovation, contributing to the overall development of AI in Vietnam in accordance with the spirit of Resolution 57-NQ/TW.

With a consistent AI orientation, Zalo continuously invests in new technology, focusing on developing and researching AI technology, as well as developing innovative and highly applicable AI application products to serve the market. Currently, AI plays a key role in Zalo's strategy of developing a diverse digital ecosystem. VNG's strong technology platform, deep understanding of consumer behavior and user experience, along with belief in intelligence and the desire to "master technology" are the advantages for Zalo to realize this vision.

Wherever there are Vietnamese, there is Zalo

During its operation, Zalo has actively demonstrated its social responsibility, deserving to be the national application of Vietnamese people. Zalo has become a key driving force in promoting the digital transformation of public administration in Vietnam, affirming its pioneering role through Zalo Official Account (OA) and Zalo Mini App. With nearly 78 million monthly users, Zalo is not only a messaging platform but also an effective, fast, and accurate digital bridge between the government, businesses, and people with the desire to accompany and support the implementation of the National Digital Transformation Program by 2025, with a vision to 2030.

By the end of 2024, Zalo had 17,273 Zalo OA (Official Zalo Accounts) belonging to state agencies and public utilities (health, education, etc.), serving more than 40 million followers, covering 63 provinces and cities, supporting people to look up information, carry out administrative procedures and interact with the government. Some of the main features provided by Zalo OA include Propaganda through posting articles, automatic search menus and effective statistics; Interaction through 1-1 chat between local officials and people or automatic responses to common questions and answers, or updating the status of people's file processing.

Meanwhile, Zalo Mini App is currently being used in 25/63 provinces and cities with 173 Mini Apps operated by state agencies, playing an important role in many aspects of public administration: digitizing administrative procedures, allowing people to look up, submit documents online, and receive status notifications from the government right on their phones; ensuring security and order when people connect with police at all levels as well as developing the local economy. Some typical Mini Apps include Tay Ninh Smart, BR-VT Smart, and GoBus TP.HCM. Tay Ninh Smart Mini App, all recorded impressive growth rates in followers.

For many years, Zalo has always played a proactive role in community activities. Notably, during the super typhoon Yagi in September 2024, Zalo supported sending more than 143 million messages updating information and instructions on storm and flood prevention. Zalo also quickly activated the Zalo SOS feature, helping people in provinces affected by the storm update their personal status. In just 10 days, Zalo SOS recorded about 1 million people updating their safety status, 151,000 people connecting for support and 87,000 emergency contacts.

Entering 2025, Zalo commits to implementing Resolution 57 and the National Digital Transformation Program, continuing to master AI technology, upgrading services for users and accompanying Vietnamese people in the digital age.

Outstanding Awards 2024 (infographic)

• Thanks to its achievements and tireless contributions to digital transformation and community support, Zalo was honored to receive a Central-level Certificate of Merit from the Vietnam Fatherland Front Committee of Nghe An province.
• Zalo continues to affirm its leading position in the Vietnamese technology industry thanks to a series of prestigious awards and titles. Zalo was honored as “Best Multi-Functional Messaging App of 2024” at the Sensor Tower APAC Awards, recognizing its great influence in the domestic market.
• AI assistant Kiki Auto, developed by Zalo AI, received the award "Best Vietnamese Virtual Assistant" at Tech Awards 2024 organized by VnExpress online newspaper.
• Adtima—an advertising agency in the Zalo ecosystem—and Zalo AI were named in the “Enabling Technology Company of the Year” category at Vietnam MMA Smarties 2024, thanks to the successful application of AI in marketing solutions, including the “Bring Tet home, Live the moment” campaign in collaboration with Pepsi, winning the Gold award for “AI-Powered Audience Engagement” and the Silver award for “AI-Driven Creative Excellence”.

  This is a series of excerpts from VNG Annual Report 2024. See the full version here

Source: https://www.vng.com.vn/news/enterprise/zalo-2024-no-luc-ket-noi-so-quoc-gia-phat-trien-ai-vi-nguoi-viet.html