Under the theme “Found by AI, Chosen by Humans,” communications leaders and experts from across Asia will explore what is truly changing in communications strategy in the age of AI.
As users increasingly turn to AI directly for answers rather than relying solely on traditional search tools, the way brands are discovered, understood, and ultimately chosen is changing. But amid the rapid adoption of AI, which shifts are genuinely reshaping the communications industry, and which are simply hype?
These will be among the questions explored at OAC Regional Communications Forum 2026, the annual forum of One Asia Communications (OAC), which will be held in Vietnam for the first time on 5 November 2026 in Ho Chi Minh City.
The forum is expected to bring together more than 100 business leaders, brand representatives, communications professionals and others interested in the impact of AI on communications and brands. Following previous editions in Bali (2023), Seoul (2024) and Bangkok (2025), the forum arrives in Ho Chi Minh City at a time when Vietnam is emerging as one of Southeast Asia’s notable markets for AI adoption.
According to a Sensor Tower report on the global AI market, Vietnam recorded 18.6 billion AI app sessions in the first half of 2026, while users spent 704 million hours on AI apps during the same period. Both figures more than doubled year on year.
The rapid growth points to a broader shift in how people access and interpret information, raising a question that brands can no longer afford to overlook: when AI becomes part of the discovery process, how is it understanding and representing your brand?
From “Found by AI” to “Chosen by Humans”
AI is becoming a powerful intermediary between people and information, changing how brands are discovered, interpreted, and evaluated. Appearing in an AI-generated answer is only the beginning. Brands must also consider how accurately they are represented, which sources shape that representation, and whether an AI-generated understanding can ultimately translate into human trust.
These questions form the starting point for the theme of OAC Regional Communications Forum 2026: “Found by AI, Chosen by Humans: Rethinking Communications Strategy in Asia.”
The forum will explore four key questions:
- How is AI truly changing the way brands are discovered?
- What is the real value of AI, and what is simply hype?
- As AI increasingly shapes perception, how can brands build and sustain trust?
- In a multilingual and multicultural Asia, what aspects of human intelligence will AI struggle to replace?
From Regional Perspectives to Local Realities
Bringing together more than 10 communications leaders and experts from across the OAC network, including Vietnam, South Korea, Japan, Singapore, India, Thailand, Cambodia and Indonesia, the forum will offer perspectives shaped by different communications environments, cultures and market realities.
The half-day programme will feature keynote presentations, panel discussions and live audience Q&A, examining some of the most pressing questions facing the communications industry today. Discussions will span the practical applications of AI, expectations surrounding the technology, and the implications for brands seeking to build credibility and trust in an increasingly AI-mediated information environment.
The forum will also examine what makes the Asian communications landscape distinctive. While AI can operate at global scale, the way people understand, evaluate and trust a brand remains closely connected to language, culture and local context. The challenge for communications professionals is therefore not simply to adapt to AI, but to understand where technology can create scale and where human insight remains essential.
AI Can Scale Reach. But Only Humans Can Build Trust.
Speaking about Ivy+Partners’ role in bringing OAC Regional Communications Forum 2026 to Vietnam, Ivy Nhi Chau, Founder & CEO of Ivy+Partners, said:
“AI is helping brands expand the speed and scale at which they can reach information, but the ability to generate an answer quickly does not necessarily translate into the ability to build trust. This is particularly relevant in Asia, where each market has its own language, culture, and communications context. Local understanding and human judgment therefore remain critical.
For Ivy+Partners, bringing OAC Regional Communications Forum 2026 to Vietnam is more than a milestone for the event. It is an opportunity for us to step back and consider a bigger question: as AI increasingly becomes part of how brands are discovered and understood, what does the communications industry need to change, and what needs to remain?”
At OAC Regional Communications Forum 2026, the conversation around AI goes beyond what the technology can do. The bigger question is: as AI becomes increasingly capable of searching, synthesising and interpreting information, what can brands do to be understood accurately, trusted and ultimately chosen by people?
Register to attend the event for free: https://bit.ly/4xTPvBa
