TELECOM | AI.Smart brings localized AI workspace to Smart, TNT subscribers
Launched Sept. 22, AI.Smart offers credit packs starting at P49 and is designed to give users access to multiple AI models without requiring a credit card.
Smart Communications Inc. and Amihan Global Strategies Inc. have launched AI.Smart, a localized artificial intelligence workspace that allows Smart and TNT subscribers to access AI tools and pay through their mobile accounts.
Launched Sept. 22, AI.Smart offers credit packs starting at P49 and is designed to give users access to multiple AI models without requiring a credit card. The service is powered by Avtica and runs on Amazon Web Services through Amazon Bedrock.
AI.Smart is positioned as a workspace rather than a conventional chatbot. Users can ask questions about their files, receive answers with citations, draft and summarize documents, create spreadsheets and presentations, generate images and analyze data in English, Filipino or Taglish.
The service is aimed particularly at users who rely on free AI tools but may not be able or willing to pay the roughly $20 monthly subscription fees charged by some advanced AI services.
“For the guy who’s just been using free services, maybe one or two images a day or one or two questions per day, this is the problem,” said Lloyd Manaloto, Smart first vice president and head of strategy and corporate brand.
Manaloto said the target user is a typical Filipino consumer who wants to use AI for school, work or other everyday tasks but is constrained by cost.
“So I think for us, the regular Filipino is most likely a mass MRT subscriber. He just paid mobile Legends, he goes to school, he works. He is a little cash crunched, but he wants to get ahead,” he said.
The service offers four credit packs: Solo at P49 for seven days, Flex at P99 for 14 days, Pro at P149 for 30 days and Max at P499 for 30 days. Pro and Max plans can be shared with a team or family.
The credits can be used across chats, documents, spreadsheets, images and presentations. Users purchase the packs inside AI.Smart and charge them to their Smart or TNT mobile accounts, with a one-time PIN confirmation sent by SMS.
The service is available to Smart and TNT subscribers through the AI.Smart website and the LiveSmart app.
Winston Damarillo, CEO of Amihan Global Strategies, said the broader objective is to make AI more accessible in emerging markets.
“The design and vision of AI.Smart is really, it’s really AI for all,” Damarillo said.
He said affordability is only the first step toward making AI a more routine part of everyday life.
“Making it cheap and making it accessible is just first step,” Damarillo said.
AI.Smart uses Amazon Bedrock to provide access to multiple AI models, including Amazon Nova, Anthropic’s Claude, Google Gemini, OpenAI and Thinking Machines.
Precious Lim, country manager of AWS Philippines, said the platform’s use of Bedrock gives users access to different models depending on their requirements and budget.
“At AWS, we believe that there is not one model to rule them all. It depends on the use cases. It depends on what you need for,” Lim said.
Damarillo said the use of multiple models also allows AI.Smart to select different capabilities while keeping user data within the service’s protected environment.
According to the companies, subscriber data is encrypted at rest and in transit, is not retained by model providers and is handled in accordance with the Philippine Data Privacy Act. Uploaded files are not used to train AI models.
AI.Smart is initially available in the Philippines, with Avtica planning to adapt the model for other emerging markets in Southeast Asia, Latin America, Africa and South Asia through partnerships with telecommunications operators and cloud providers.
The service became available to Smart and TNT subscribers on Sept. 18, with additional access offers available through the LiveSmart app.
