PLDT Inc. and Smart Communications are emphasizing the role of human judgment, empathy and customer trust as artificial intelligence becomes more integrated into customer service and business operations.
The companies discussed the 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 session brought together business, technology and customer experience leaders to examine how organizations can use AI while maintaining 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.
“Technology can help us move faster, work smarter, and serve customers better, but trust, empathy, and human judgment remain irreplaceable,” he said.
Haidee Enriquez, CEO of MicroSourcing Group and president of the Customer Experience Association of the Philippines, said AI is changing the type of work employees perform rather than making them irrelevant.
“AI isn’t making people irrelevant. It’s changing where they create the most value,” Enriquez said, noting that employees will increasingly handle complex problems, sensitive customer interactions and decisions requiring human judgment as automation takes on routine tasks.
She also highlighted the need for T-shaped professionals who combine deep expertise in one field with broader capabilities in technology, analytics, problem-solving and cross-functional collaboration.
Smart Officer-in-Charge Lloyd Manaloto said companies should measure AI adoption by its effect on customer outcomes rather than the speed of automated processes.
“AI helps us process information faster, but customers don’t measure us by how fast our systems work. They measure us by how well we solve their problems,” Manaloto said.
Abigail Ho-Torres, chief marketing officer of Ikigai Philippines and a customer experience advocate, said customers should continue to have the option of speaking with a person rather than being limited to automated systems.
Naveen Asrani, head of AI Acceleration for Banking, Financial Services and Insurance and Digital at Amazon Web Services, said AI can help organizations anticipate customer needs, reduce friction in customer journeys and build trust.
He added that frontline employees provide insights beyond the information customers communicate, including their emotions and reactions. Human-centered AI should use that input while keeping people in control, he said.
PLDT and Smart said they are integrating AI into customer-facing operations, network management and internal workflows. Their initiatives include AI-enabled customer service capabilities, self-optimizing network technologies and the use of Microsoft 365 Copilot to automate routine tasks, support analysis and improve employee productivity.
The companies have also introduced AI and innovation training programs to develop employees’ practical skills.
Their broader AI initiative includes AI.Smart, a browser-based workspace for Smart and TNT subscribers that provides access to multiple AI models and tools through one platform. Powered by Avtica, it brings together AWS Nova, ChatGPT, Claude, Google Gemini and Thinking Machines.
Jimenez said the companies’ approach is to use AI to improve efficiency while allowing employees to focus on customer relationships and service.
“In an age where technology is becoming increasingly intelligent, our responsibility is to become even more human,” he said. “AI can help us scale efficiency, but it is our people who build relationships, earn trust, and create meaningful experiences for our customers.”
Full disclosure: All news articles published on the TechSabado website are written by human journalists, unless otherwise specified. Final text editing is also performed by human editors, with artificial intelligence (AI) used only to assist with additional grammar and style guide corrections..
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