AI will not replace customer service workers, says experts’ group
By Andrea B. Ramos
The integration of Artificial Intelligence (AI) into the contact center – business process management will not replace employees, data from Customer Xperience Association of the Philippines shows.
In a recent media conference by CXAP (formerly known as Contact Center Association or CCAP), the conference was led by CXAP President Haidee Enriquez; CXAP Board Director and Concentrix Vice President Tonichi Achurra-Parekh; and CXAP Board Director and Visaya Knowledge Process Outsourcing Corporation CEO Julian Valenzuela.
According to the data based on CXAP Chairman Mitch Locsin at the 10th Contact Islands conference in Cebu, the number of full-time employees (FTEs) in the sector grew 4% to 1.68 million in 2025, from 1.62 million in 2024. The number of FTEs will further increase by about 2.80% to 1.73 million agents in 2026.
Enriquez emphasizes the importance of communication about the integration of AI in the business processes should be clear to their FTEs.
“That’s why CXAP as well as our member companies really made sure that the narrative is clear and the intent is clear. And that this new technology, just like any technologies and any new tools that we have adopted as industry players in the past, serve well to improve efficiency and effectiveness rather than to remove their jobs,” she said.
“I think that’s the very first thing that’s very important that we did as an organization and as individual players to ensure our employees that we are there to help them adjust to this change and we are there to help make sure that they are ready to embrace the change,” she added.
Enriquez reiterates that showing their intentions to their employees through thorough communication will help their employees not resort to misinformation and ultimately cloud their way of thinking about the AI strategy.
Valenzuela expressed that they do turn over end-to-end processes to AI alone: “There’s parts of the process flow that are amenable to automation and that’s what we actually automate. We train our experts.”
“We will train all our employees what to expect and how to use the AI. My one recommendation is to come to the table with a skill,” he said.
For Parekh, they prepared their staff by requiring them to undergo an AI literacy program to prepare them for this evolution, developing their training program that fits the employees’ knowledge on AI.
She added the positive change in employee satisfaction with the integration of AI: “The work became a little bit easier for our workforce as well. Because again, we started with enabling our workforce with AI technology so that their work will be easier.”
The AI evolution in the workplace did not hinder the growth of employees. In the past, employees had to focus on both answering customer queries and building good relationships, they said. With AI automating redundant processes, it now allows employees to solely focus on connections and relationships, reaching their full potential and maximizing their productivity.
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