On December 19, 2025, Vietnam’s digital landscape found itself at a crossroads. Two reports—one from the homegrown search engine Cốc Cốc and another from Tuổi Trẻ Online—painted a vivid picture of how Vietnamese users are not only changing the way they search for information, but also how artificial intelligence (AI) is upending the very mechanics of online discovery itself. The findings reveal a society that’s growing more proactive, selective, and sophisticated in its digital habits, even as the rules of the internet game shift beneath everyone’s feet.
According to the annual trend report released by Cốc Cốc, Vietnamese users in 2025 have become far more deliberate in their online searches. The Technology category soared to the top, boasting a remarkable 93% growth rate and overtaking Entertainment, which saw a 33% drop. This shift signals more than just a passing interest in gadgets or apps; it reflects a society increasingly attuned to the mechanics of government, legal changes, and national events. For instance, searches for the keyword “sáp nhập” (merger) skyrocketed by a staggering 1,219%, while “diễu binh” (military parade) jumped 337%—clear evidence that people are closely following administrative reforms and national commemorations.
But what’s driving this newfound digital maturity? Cốc Cốc’s analysis suggests that Vietnamese users are no longer content with surface-level curiosity about new technologies. The days of typing “What is AI?” into a search bar are fading. Instead, people are asking practical questions like “How to make videos with AI?” or “Create images with AI.” Searches related to ChatGPT alone surged by 434%, and there’s growing interest in platforms like DeepSeek and Gemini, as well as AI-powered tools for design, programming, and language learning. As Cốc Cốc puts it, “AI has truly gone deeper, serving specialized needs rather than just initial curiosity.”
This digital sophistication isn’t limited to technology. In 2025, local content has experienced a renaissance as Vietnamese users turn to search engines to affirm their identity and reconnect with their heritage. Keywords such as “A80,” “Mưa đỏ,” and artists like Tùng Dương and Nguyễn Hùng have seen a wave of renewed interest, reflecting a strong appetite for homegrown stories and cultural touchstones. At the same time, the public is keeping a watchful eye on social responsibility and ethical conduct. Searches for celebrities and figures involved in legal or ethical controversies—Ngân 98, Shark Bình, Mailisa, Nguyễn Thúc Thuỳ Tiên, and Trịnh Văn Quyết—spiked in tandem with unfolding events, underscoring a community that’s increasingly vigilant about accountability and integrity.
Gen Z, meanwhile, continues to redefine the boundaries of language and culture online. As Cốc Cốc notes, this generation is “leading linguistic trends by creatively reusing and expanding Vietnamese meanings alongside flexible adoption of international slang.” Phrases like “khối nghỉ hè” (summer block), “giữ chuỗi” (keep the streak), and borrowed expressions such as “joke of the day” or “brainrot” are now part of the everyday digital lexicon. The result? A vibrant blend of global integration and distinctly Vietnamese flair.
Yet, just as users become more discerning, the very nature of how information is found and consumed online is undergoing seismic change. In a detailed analysis published by Tuổi Trẻ Online on the same day, the traditional model of search engine optimization (SEO)—the backbone of web content for over a decade—is being fundamentally disrupted by AI. For years, SEO relied on optimizing content through keyword density and link-building to climb the ranks of search results. But as AI-powered search tools like Google’s Search Generative Experience and Microsoft’s Bing Copilot take center stage, the way information is surfaced and used is being rewritten.
These generative search engines don’t just spit out a list of websites. Instead, they synthesize data from multiple sources to present a complete answer right on the search page. As Tuổi Trẻ Online explains, “The core information is consumed at the query point, significantly reducing the need to click through to the source website.” It’s a paradox: content may still rank highly, but the number of actual visits drops because users get what they need without ever leaving the search engine. The click, once the holy grail of web strategy, is losing its luster.
What’s more, AI evaluates content by new standards. Clarity, coherence, and reliability now trump traditional SEO signals like keyword stuffing or backlink counts. This evolution is giving rise to a new discipline known as Generative Engine Optimization (GEO). Unlike SEO, which is about getting found, GEO is about getting used—making sure your content is selected by AI as a trusted source for synthesized answers. As the report puts it, “GEO doesn’t aim to put websites at the top of search results, but to ensure content is chosen by AI for direct, selective responses to user queries.”
To succeed in this new environment, content creators must rethink their approach. Information needs to be logically structured, concepts clearly defined, and arguments systematically laid out. When AI parses and extracts data, only the most coherent and trustworthy content will be included in its synthesized responses. Technical factors like site stability and data accessibility still matter, but the focus has shifted from being merely discoverable to being actively utilized within AI-generated answers.
This transition from SEO to GEO reflects a deeper transformation in the information ecosystem. As AI becomes the new intermediary between content and readers, the value of content lies not just in being correct or comprehensive, but in being reliable and easily reusable. “GEO is not simply an optimization technique, but a change in content production mindset,” Tuổi Trẻ Online observes. In other words, it’s not just about being seen—it’s about being trusted and integrated into the answers people actually receive.
Looking ahead to 2026, experts anticipate that search behavior in Vietnam will shift even further toward execution. With new laws on data, cybersecurity, and AI coming into effect, users are expected to focus on understanding legal procedures, application methods, and compliance. Search will evolve from a tool for acquiring knowledge to one for taking action—protecting individual rights and interacting efficiently with online public services in an era of comprehensive digitalization.
Vietnam’s digital journey in 2025, then, is not just about more sophisticated search queries or cleverer content strategies. It’s about a society learning to navigate the shifting tides of technology, culture, and law—where being proactive, selective, and trusted matters more than ever before.
