AI · 3 min read
Scaling AI for local markets: Singlish & Hokkien
Scaling global AI tools and capabilities for local markets. Listen with sound. PS: my Singaporean friends will love this!
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Originally published on LinkedIn
Key takeaways
- “It’s not local enough” is one of the biggest barriers to scaling AI into local markets. When the look, the voice or the references are off, audiences can tell straight away and the content stops working.
- Most AI tools master languages in their purest form, so every AI voice we tested read Singlish and Hokkien like English. We redesigned the workflow: a native speaker sets the tone, rhythm and attitude, and AI changes the voices and animates the characters to that performance.
- Localization isn’t a reason to hold back on AI. It’s a design problem that can be solved one layer at a time: voice today, then looks and cultural references.
One of the biggest barriers I hear from brands trying to scale AI into local markets: “It’s not local enough.” Too American. Too Mainland-Chinese. Too overseas.
The look is off, the voice is wrong, the references don’t land. Audiences can tell straight away, and once they can, the content stops working.
Real markets don’t speak “pure” anythingWhy does AI content so often feel “not local enough”?
Most AI tools are trained to master languages in their purest form: standard English, standard Mandarin, standard Japanese. But real markets don’t speak “pure” anything. Singapore speaks Singlish and Hokkien, and that’s where the trust and the humour live.
Voice, where one wrong tone kills the jokeHow do you get AI to speak Singlish and Hokkien?
For a local interior design company, we took on one of the hardest parts of that gap: voice.
This piece of content is a Hokkien and Singlish comedy, where one wrong tone kills the joke. Every AI voice we tested read it like English, no prompt worked and it sounded like trash.
So we redesigned the workflow instead of waiting for a better model:
- 🗣️ A native speaker set the tone, rhythm and attitude.
- 🔄 AI changed the voices while keeping the local delivery.
- 🎬 AI animated the characters to that real performance.
- ✅ The local nuance survived, and the production still scaled.
Localization is a design problemShould localization hold you back on AI?
That’s the point. Localization isn’t a reason to hold back on AI.
It’s a design problem, and it can be solved one layer at a time: voice today, then looks and cultural references.
Looking to scale your own AI capabilities? WhatsApp me or email me.
About the author
Kenneth Phua
Founder, Konverta.ai
Kenneth is a Singapore-based digital, data and AI leader with 15+ years of experience, including senior global roles at Coca-Cola, where he was the Global Head of Digital Strategy and Innovation. He has advised C-suite leaders across FMCG, retail, property, hospitality and luxury, and now applies the same playbook to Singaporean and Asian corporates and SMEs through Konverta.ai.
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