By Lucio Gabor
The growing integration of artificial intelligence (AI) in the contact center and business process management (CC-BPM) industry is strengthening — not replacing — the value of Filipino talent, according to the Customer Xperience Association of the Philippines (CXAP), formerly known as the Contact Center Association of the Philippines (CCAP).
Data presented by CXAP Chairman Mitch Locsin during the recent 10th Contact Islands Conference in Cebu showed that employment in the CC-BPM sector continued to rise in 2025 despite rapid AI adoption across global industries.
The sector’s workforce grew by 4 percent to 1.68 million full-time employees (FTEs) in 2025 from 1.62 million in 2024, translating to more than 60,000 new jobs created within the year. CXAP projects employment to further increase by 2.8 percent to 1.73 million workers in 2026.
The CC-BPM sector accounted for nearly 89 percent of the entire information technology-business process management (IT-BPM) industry workforce, which reached 1.89 million employees in 2025, up 3.7 percent from 1.82 million in 2024.
Revenue growth also remained strong. The CC-BPM sector generated US$33.9 billion in revenue in 2025, up 6.94 percent from US$31.7 billion in 2024. Industry analysts expect revenues to further climb to US$35.7 billion in 2026 despite global economic uncertainties, geopolitical tensions in the Middle East, and evolving policies in Western markets.
The industry remains optimistic that it can achieve the US$49-billion revenue target set in the IT-BPM Roadmap by 2028, contributing significantly to the industry-wide goal of US$59 billion in annual revenues and 2.5 million workers by that time.
AI Driving Transformation, Not Job Losses
“The employment growth in the CC-BPM sector and even the entire IT-BPM industry counters the common notion that AI leads to job displacement,” said Haidee C. Enriquez, CEO of Microsourcing and Beepo and president of CXAP.
“Through the sector’s proactive approach to the evolving global landscape, we can confidently assert that the Philippines is ready to be recognized not only as a service destination, but as a global customer experience leader in the AI era,” she added during the media symposium on Monday at the Peninsula Hotel in Makati City.
CXAP emphasized that AI is transforming the nature of work rather than eliminating jobs. As automation takes over repetitive tasks, Filipino workers are increasingly moving into higher-value and more specialized roles that require empathy, critical thinking, creativity, and customer engagement.
Emerging services now include customer experience consulting, customer journey mapping, AI-enabled business processes, and advanced marketing and supply chain support. At the same time, new career opportunities are rapidly emerging, including roles such as Prompt Engineer, AI Trainer, Generative AI Maintenance Officer, CX AI Solutions Architect, AI Content Strategist, and AI Ethicist.
According to the CXAP 2026 Executive Survey, “adoption of AI, automation, and emerging technologies” ranked as the third biggest growth driver among CC-BPM firms, following expansion of existing client accounts and acquisition of new clients.
Generative AI emerged as the most widely adopted technology across the sector, followed by predictive analytics and CX data tools, conversational AI and chatbots, agentic AI, and robotic process automation (RPA).
The survey also highlighted that AI and automation skills are now the most in-demand capabilities among employees, ahead of digital and IT skills, customer relationship management, data analytics, and leadership competencies.
Filipino Strengths Remain Key Advantage
Industry leaders believe the Philippines’ biggest competitive advantage remains the uniquely human qualities of Filipino workers.
CXAP noted that while AI can improve efficiency and productivity, empathy, active listening, emotional intelligence, and relationship-building continue to define exceptional customer experience.
“Generative AI can enhance the strengths of our local agents, allowing them to focus more on active listening and becoming more empathetic and engaging in serving customers,” the organization previously said.
Locsin added that traditional high-volume contact center services are now evolving into more specialized and domain-driven support operations.
“The Philippines has established strong maturity in core contact center and transactional BPM services, with significant opportunities to accelerate growth in higher-value BPM and emerging CX capabilities,” Locsin said during Contact Islands 2026.
CXAP Rebrands for the Future
Reflecting the industry’s evolution, the 25-year-old organization formally rebranded from CCAP to CXAP during the Contact Islands 2026 conference, which carried the theme “Reimagining CX, Shaping the World.”
The rebranding underscores the industry’s transition from traditional customer service operations to sophisticated AI-enabled, multi-channel customer experience solutions.
“Today, we are delivering sophisticated, AI-enabled, multi-channel customer experience solutions to the world,” Enriquez said.
“Our people are no longer simply handling transactions. They are solving problems, building relationships, and creating value.”
She stressed that despite advances in technology; human connection remains at the heart of customer experience.
“No matter how advanced technology becomes, it is still human empathy, connection, and ingenuity that will continue to define exceptional customer experience,” Enriquez added.
