Artificial intelligence (AI) adoption in the Philippines is moving past the early testing stages with companies starting to use the technology in more practical and structured ways, a shift that could reshape the country’s information technology-business process management (IT-BPM) industry, according to Amazon Web Services (AWS).
The IT-BPM sector is one of the Philippines’ largest economic drivers, generating about $31 billion to $33 billion in revenue in 2022, according to government data.
At a recent media briefing, AWS said many Philippine firms initially used AI for simple tools like customer service chatbots.
However, companies are now taking a more serious approach, building “AI kitchens” or centers of excellence, to decide which AI projects should be expanded.
“They already have decision criteria in terms of which AI initiatives are really bringing them increased productivity or operational efficiency,” said Precious Lim, ountry manager, AWS Philippines .
This sentiment was shared by Joel Garcia, technology lead for AWS in ASEAN, for strategic initiatives, saying that businesses that benefit most from AI are those that focus on fixing the real operational problems instead of simply trying out new technology.
“I think what has stayed true for the companies that are actually leveraging more of this for their business, more for outcomes, is they romance the problem. They don’t romance technology,” Garcia said.
The sector employs roughly 1.5 million Filipinos, making it one of the country’s largest sources of digital jobs.
In the country’s IT-BPM sector, AWS said that companies are now exploring more advanced AI systems that can handle routine tasks across processes such as legal support, banking bank-office work, and software development assistance.
AWS is promoting what it calls the “Process to Agent” approach, which uses AI to take over repetitive tasks so employees can focus on more complex and higher-value work.
Garcia said that AI’s long-term impact lies in improving how companies work, not just in using new digital tools.
Industry projections show the IT-BPM sector could grow to around $48.5 billion in revenue and 2.1 million jobs by 2028.
As AI adoption grows, AWS said it is expanding training programs to help develop local talent.
