ChatGPT Users Malaysia 2026: AI Tool Usage Statistics

2. ChatGPT Users Malaysia: Key Figures

Quick Answer: In 2025, 48.4% of Malaysian internet users aged 16+ used ChatGPT in the past month, and 89% used some form of AI daily. By September 2026, ChatGPT held 81.46% of AI chatbot usage share in Malaysia and chatgpt.com ranked 7th among all websites. Google still holds 99.48% of search share against ChatGPT.

Sources for each row, so you can check them yourself:

• Internet users: DataReportal, Digital 2026: Malaysia.
• ChatGPT reach: GWI survey data in the Digital 2026 Global Overview Report by We Are Social and Meltwater, and its mid-year 2026 update for the 16 to 24 group.
• Daily and work AI use: Telenor Asia’s Digital Lives Decoded 2025, as reported by Bernama.
• Usage share and search share: Statcounter AI chatbot market share, Malaysia and Statcounter Google vs ChatGPT, Malaysia.
• Website rank: Similarweb top websites in Malaysia, September 2026.

3. How Many People Use ChatGPT in Malaysia?

Quick Answer: About half of Malaysia’s adult internet users use ChatGPT each month. GWI’s Q2 2025 survey put the share at 48.4%, fourth among the markets highlighted in the Digital 2026 report. As a rough guide, that equals around 17 million people if applied to all 35.4 million internet users, though the true adult figure is lower.

The 48.4% figure comes from the Digital 2026 Global Overview Report, and the country ranking was reported by Philstar Life. Three points help you read it correctly:

• It measures reach, not loyalty. “Past month” includes someone who opened ChatGPT once. Heavy daily users are a smaller group.
• The 17 million is our rough calculation. It multiplies 48.4% by DataReportal’s 35.4 million internet users. The survey only covers people aged 16 and above, so treat it as an upper-bound guide, not an official count. OpenAI does not publish user numbers by country.
• Young adults lead by a wide margin. The April 2026 mid-year update found 67.4% of Malaysian internet users aged 16 to 24 use ChatGPT monthly, against a global average of 55.4% for that age group.

For context, the same update notes OpenAI reported 900 million weekly active ChatGPT users worldwide. Our Gen Z Malaysia statistics explain why younger buyers adopt new platforms first, and our most used apps in Malaysia report shows where ChatGPT sits among everyday apps.

4. ChatGPT vs Gemini, Perplexity and Copilot: Which AI Tools Do Malaysians Use?

Quick Answer: ChatGPT dominates. In September 2026 it held 81.46% of AI chatbot usage share in Malaysia, per Statcounter. Google Gemini was a distant second at 13.56%, followed by Perplexity at 2.76% and Microsoft Copilot at 1.83%. Claude and DeepSeek together held under half a percent.

The Statcounter data lines up with Similarweb’s website ranking, which places chatgpt.com 7th, gemini.google.com 12th and claude.ai 38th in Malaysia. What this means for a business:

• ChatGPT is the first AI platform to optimise for. With four in five AI chatbot sessions, it is where most AI-led product research happens. Our guide on how to show up in ChatGPT answers covers the practical steps.
• Gemini matters more than its share suggests. Google also shows AI answers inside normal search, which this chatbot data does not count. See how to show up in Gemini search results.
• Your team may need more than one tool. For internal work, our comparisons of Notion AI, ChatGPT and Gemini and ChatGPT vs Jasper vs Copy.ai help you choose.

5. How Often Do Malaysians Use AI, and for What?

Quick Answer: Daily AI use among Malaysian internet users jumped from 75% in 2024 to 89% in 2025, per Telenor Asia, and a quarter use AI tools several times a day. Workplace use rose from 37% to 51%. At work, the top uses are analytics (59%), content development (52%) and customer service (45%).

Telenor’s findings were covered by Bernama and, in more detail, Digital News Asia. Ipsos adds a sentiment view in its AI Monitor 2025 for Malaysia. Together they show a public that uses AI heavily but stays careful:

• AI feels part of daily life. Ipsos found 3 out of 4 Malaysians believe AI has significantly changed their daily life in the past three to five years.
• Privacy is the top worry. Six in ten Telenor respondents named privacy as a key AI concern.
• Job anxiety is real. Ipsos reports 63% of Malaysians worry AI could replace their current job within three to five years.
• Few employers have a plan. Only one in three AI-using employees say their company has an AI strategy, per Telenor.

That caution is good news for credible brands. AI answers that cite trusted, well-structured pages win, which is why AI citation tracking is becoming part of normal SEO reporting. Time spent on AI also competes with other screens; our screen time Malaysia data shows how many hours people spend online each day.

6. Is ChatGPT Replacing Google Search in Malaysia?

Quick Answer: Not yet. In September 2026, Statcounter put Google at 99.48% of search share in Malaysia against 0.52% for ChatGPT. Similarweb ranks google.com 1st and chatgpt.com 7th among Malaysian websites. ChatGPT is growing alongside Google, not instead of it, and the two now feed each other.

The Similarweb ranking puts chatgpt.com just above Shopee, which shows how big it has become. Yet the Statcounter search comparison shows Google still takes almost all search activity. Both can be true for three reasons:

• People use ChatGPT for tasks, not just searches. Many use it to write, translate or plan, and none of that replaces a Google search.
• Google answers with AI too. AI Overviews keep many people inside Google. Our review of AI Overviews click-through data shows what this does to website clicks.
• ChatGPT can search the web. When it looks things up online, it draws on pages it finds there, so pages that are easy to find and trust still feed AI answers.

For the full picture of where Malaysians go online, compare this with our most visited websites in Malaysia report and our search engine market share data. To see how voice, image and AI search habits are shifting, read how Malaysians search online.

7. What This Means for Your Marketing

Quick Answer: With about half of online Malaysians using ChatGPT, your business needs to be the answer AI tools give, not just a search result. Keep Google SEO as the base, structure pages so AI can quote them, track AI referrals in GA4, and use AI inside your own team to work faster.

Here is the order we recommend for Malaysian businesses, based on what the data on ChatGPT users in Malaysia shows:

1. Keep Google SEO as the foundation. Google still holds over 99% of search share, and AI tools often draw on pages that rank. Start with our SEO services for Malaysian businesses or the basics of generative engine optimisation.
2. Write pages AI can quote. Short direct answers, clear facts and tables get cited. Our guide on getting cited in ChatGPT and Google AI Overviews shows the format.
3. Measure AI traffic separately. Set up reporting with our guide to tracking ChatGPT referrals in GA4, then judge it with our analysis of whether ChatGPT visitors convert.
4. Watch ChatGPT advertising. Ads inside AI answers are still new. Our ChatGPT ads guide explains what Malaysian advertisers should prepare for.
5. Use AI inside your own team. Start with our list of ChatGPT marketing use cases for small business and check costs in our ChatGPT Plus price Malaysia guide.

AI is only one part of the Malaysian media mix. Pair this report with our data on online video in Malaysia, podcast listeners, WhatsApp users, influencer marketing statistics, ad blocker usage and e-wallet usage. Our Google Year in Search Malaysia recap shows what people still look up on Google.

8. Conclusion

Quick Answer: ChatGPT users in Malaysia are among the most active in the world: 48.4% of adult internet users used it in a month, and ChatGPT holds over 80% of AI chatbot usage share. But Google still dominates search, so the winning plan is strong SEO that also earns AI citations.

The numbers show a country that has adopted AI quickly and uses it every day, from students to office teams. They also show that AI has not replaced Google. For Malaysian businesses, the job is to be found in both places: ranking on Google and being the source ChatGPT and Gemini quote when customers ask for advice.

If you want help building that visibility, our digital marketing team can plan SEO, content and ads around how your customers really search.

9. Frequently Asked Questions

1. How many ChatGPT users are there in Malaysia?

OpenAI does not publish country user counts. GWI data in the Digital 2026 report found 48.4% of Malaysian internet users aged 16+ used ChatGPT in the past month (Q2 2025). Applied to 35.4 million internet users, that is roughly 17 million at most, by our rough calculation.

2. Which AI chatbot is most popular in Malaysia?

ChatGPT, by a wide margin. Statcounter’s September 2026 data gives it 81.46% of AI chatbot usage share in Malaysia, ahead of Google Gemini at 13.56%, Perplexity at 2.76% and Microsoft Copilot at 1.83%.

3. How many Malaysians use AI every day?

Telenor Asia’s 2025 survey found 89% of Malaysian internet users use AI daily, up from 75% in 2024. A quarter use AI tools several times a day, and 51% now use AI at work.

4. Is ChatGPT more popular than Google in Malaysia?

No. Google holds 99.48% of search share against 0.52% for ChatGPT (Statcounter, September 2026), and google.com is Malaysia’s top website while chatgpt.com ranks 7th (Similarweb). Many people use ChatGPT for writing and other tasks rather than search.

5. When will 2026 data on ChatGPT users in Malaysia be available?

The next full-year figures should appear in the Digital 2027 reports, expected in late 2026, and in Telenor Asia’s next annual survey. We will update this report when new verified data is published.