Every Filipino Should Be a ‘Co-Creator’ in the AI Revolution - Smart COO

With over 250,000 businesses in the Philippines now actively using artificial intelligence (AI), the country is seeing one of the fastest adoption rates in the region — growing 50% year-on-year. Yet amid this rapid uptake, leaders are reminded that nothing beats human instinct when it comes to decision-making.

This was the core message of the keynote delivered by Anastacio “Boy” R. Martirez, Chief Operating Officer of Smart Communications Inc. (Smart), during the first Philippine AWS Cloud Day held in Taguig City.

“[Generative] AI can process, create, predict, and personalize. But it cannot choose the path — that’s up to us as a people, as a government, as companies. We must steer it, guided by human instinct. And like I said [at the Mobile World Congress] in Barcelona early this year, it’s really the CEO’s instinct that must guide our decisions…not AI,” Martirez said.

Speaking before hundreds of industry participants, Martirez spotlighted Smart’s commitment to affordable, high-quality innovation — using AI to enhance customer service, optimize networks, and deliver targeted marketing. These efforts are already driving measurable impact, with AI adopters in the Philippines reporting an average 18% revenue growth and 70% seeing significant productivity gains.

However, Martirez emphasized that technology alone is not enough. With 57% of businesses citing a lack of digital skills as a barrier to AI adoption, he called for a national AI literacy drive to empower Filipino talent.

"True innovation lifts everyone… [but] tech without skills is useless. We need a national AI literacy drive so that everyone, from BPO agents to barangay health workers, can use AI,” Martirez said. “Work once out of reach due to training, distance, or cultural barriers is now within grasp, unlocked by gen AI and world-class connectivity.”

Smart’s partnership with AWS is central to this transformation. Together, the companies are building a 'Center of Excellence' for AI in the Philippines, ramping up Smart’s data and AI capabilities to deliver personalized, AI-powered customer experiences.

“The best AI innovations are built with purpose, born with empathy, scaled with trust,” Martirez said. “Together, we are reimagining journeys, supporting digitalization, and expanding digital inclusion.”

Positioning Smart as the nation’s digital backbone, Martirez shared Smart’s vision for AI in the Philippines: “We aim to make every Filipino a co-creator in the AI revolution. We are at a fork in the road. AI could widen the digital divide or make the Philippines the world’s lab for inclusive AI. We choose the latter.”

PLDT and Smart’s continued investments in AI and network infrastructure align with their mission to bridge the digital divide, expand access to technology, and contribute to the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals — particularly SDG No. 9: Industry, Innovation, and Infrastructure. These efforts reflect the PLDT Group’s broader commitment to nation-building through technology and support the national government’s digitalization agenda.