DAVAO CITY, Philippines — Artificial intelligence is emerging as a source of anxiety among business process outsourcing (BPO) workers, as experts warn that the technology could significantly reshape the industry.
Clouie, a trainer in the BPO industry, has already seen artificial intelligence (AI) become part of daily operations. Training sessions that once required instructors to manually deliver lessons are now supplemented by AI-generated videos and automated learning materials. Despite seeing the benefits, she admitted the rapid pace of change has created pressure to keep up.
“40 percent of me is kind of scared. What if AI will take over?” she told Davao Today.
That fear has pushed her to acquire new skills on her own. “I feel like I need to compete with AI. I’m trying to learn how to write formulas in Excel, just so I feel like I can hold my own,” she added.
Aljun, a customer service representative, said the prospect of deeper AI integration raised fears about displacement, especially for colleagues with families to support. While he believes AI can assist with routine concerns, he argues it still falls short on emotional intelligence.
“AI has no empathy. Customers wanted to report their experience, but since AI has no empathy, they don’t feel that they were really helped,” he said.
Agentic AI crisis
UP Professorial Fellow Emmanuel Lallana warned that one major firm projects a net loss of 300,000 BPO jobs over the next five years, with only about 100,000 new positions expected to emerge. Lallana, a digital governance advocate, added that the rise of “agentic AI” could accelerate the crisis.
Agentic AI are systems capable of independently making decisions and handling complex concerns with limited human supervision.
“If agentic AI lives up to its potential, it could wipe out the call center agent industry in the Philippines,” Lallana said.
During a recent forum hosted by the University of the Philippines Center for Integrative and Development Studies, Novare Technologies Chief Technology Officer Dr. William Emmanuel Yu estimated that around 25 percent of call center activities have already been automated. Tasks such as post-call summaries, customer feedback logs, and portions of customer service operations are now handled faster by AI systems.
Novare Technologies, founded in 2005 by Craig Ehrlich, is a software development company based in the Philippines and Hong Kong, specializing in enterprise applications and digital transformation solutions.
While the Philippines remains one of the world’s leading outsourcing destinations, the same technological advancements that promise greater efficiency may also threaten thousands of jobs.
According to a 2026 International Labour Organization (ILO) policy brief, 27.7 percent of Philippine employment or approximately 12.7 million jobs, is potentially exposed to generative AI, the highest rate among comparable ASEAN countries. The report identified the information technology-business process management (IT-BPM) sector as one of the most vulnerable industries, given its concentration of clerical, administrative, and customer support functions increasingly susceptible to automation.
Clerical support occupations face the highest level of generative AI exposure in the country, with more than 3.5 million workers potentially affected, a significant share of them concentrated in contact centers and outsourcing firms.
The pressure extends beyond automation. AI-powered monitoring tools now track agents’ tone, pitch, and language use, while companies are tightening performance benchmarks. Tasks that previously allowed agents 200 seconds to complete are now expected to be finished in 170.
For BIEN Philippines, a network of call center and digital workers, the concern is not AI itself but how companies are deploying it.
BIEN President Mylene Cabalona said workers generally welcome technology that makes their jobs easier, but many have witnessed AI being used to eliminate positions rather than reduce workloads. One example involved quality assurance employees whose roles were replaced by software that automatically evaluates customer interactions. Hundreds of workers were reassigned, placed on floating status, or separated from their jobs after companies adopted AI-based monitoring systems.
“AI should lessen the burden of work, but it’s replacing us,” Cabalona said.
She also noted that AI-driven productivity tools often prompt management to raise performance targets, placing additional pressure on employees rather than improving working conditions.
Regulate AI
The digital sector has argued that technological change should not come at the expense of workers’ livelihoods.
BIEN Philippines is calling on the government to take a more active role in regulating workplace AI and protecting employees from sudden displacement. The organization stressed that workers should be informed about how AI systems affect their jobs, and that companies should not use the technology primarily as a cost-cutting measure.
“We need to make sure that AI is regulated,” Cabalona said. “Workers should know its impact on their job security and welfare.”
Davo’s BPO sector has an estimated 85,000 employees.
The group also urged authorities to strengthen retraining and upskilling programs for workers whose roles may be affected by automation. For Clouie, that means practical, face-to-face training, not just digital modules.
“There should be face-to-face training so that employees will be able to compete with AI,” she said.
Their calls echo ILO recommendations urging governments, employers, and labor organizations to work together in preparing workers for AI-driven labor market shifts. The ILO has stressed that targeted policies, social dialogue, and workforce development programs are essential to ensure the benefits of generative AI are shared broadly and that workers vulnerable to displacement are not left behind.(davaotoday.com)
