(L-R) AWS Head of AI Acceleration for Banking, FSI and Digital Naveen Asrani; Ikigai Philippines CMO Abigail Ho-Torres; PLDT VP and Head of Customer Care Operations Chiqui Abad-Arevalo; PLDT COO Butch Jimenez; MicroSourcing Group CEO and CXAP President Haidee Enriquez; and Smart FVP and Head of Customer Care Brenda Dichoso.
PLDT Inc. and Smart Communications, Inc. are advancing a human-centered approach to artificial intelligence, emphasizing the use of AI to improve customer experience and employee productivity while keeping human judgment, empathy, and trust central to business operations.
The companies shared this approach during “The Human Edge in the Age of AI,” a special edition of the PEG-Usapan Natin learning series held as part of their Customer Experience Month celebration. The discussion brought together business, technology, and customer experience leaders to examine how organizations can adopt AI without losing meaningful human connections.
“The future is not about choosing between AI and people. It’s about using AI to help our people do what they do best,” said Butch Jimenez, PLDT Chief Operating Officer. He added that the company’s approach is to put AI in the hands of employees rather than use it as a replacement for them.
Speakers highlighted how AI is changing workplace responsibilities by taking on routine tasks and allowing employees to focus on complex problem-solving, customer relationships, and decisions requiring human judgment.
Haidee Enriquez, CEO of MicroSourcing Group and president of the Customer Experience Association of the Philippines, emphasized the need for T-shaped professionals who combine specialized expertise with broader capabilities in technology, analytics, problem-solving, and cross-functional collaboration.
Lloyd Manaloto, Smart Officer-in-Charge, said AI can help organizations process information faster and better understand customer needs, but customer experience ultimately depends on how effectively businesses resolve problems.
From a technology perspective, Naveen Asrani, AWS Head of AI Acceleration for Banking, FSI and Digital, said AI can help organizations anticipate customer needs, reduce friction across customer journeys, and build trust. He stressed that human input remains important in understanding not only what customers say but also how they feel.
PLDT and Smart said AI is already being integrated into their customer-facing operations, network management, and internal workflows. These include AI-enabled customer service capabilities, self-optimizing network technologies, and Microsoft 365 Copilot to help employees automate routine tasks, accelerate analysis, and improve productivity.
The Group is also expanding employee training through AI and innovation upskilling programs.
Another initiative is AI.Smart, a browser-based AI workspace for Smart and TNT subscribers. Powered by Avtica, the platform brings together multiple AI models and tools, including AWS Nova, ChatGPT, Claude, Google Gemini, and Thinking Machines, through a single interface.
The companies said the platform is intended to make AI capabilities more accessible and practical for users, supporting activities such as working, learning, and content creation.
For PLDT and Smart, the broader strategy is to use AI to improve operational efficiency and customer service while enabling employees to concentrate on higher-value responsibilities.
As AI adoption expands across industries, the companies see human expertise and technology working together as central to delivering more responsive and meaningful customer experiences.
