Google optimistic on PHL AI adoption

GOOGLE is bullish about the growth of artificial intelligence (AI) in the Philippines amid increasing adoption of AI-powered tools.

“The Philippines is unique given that the English-speaking population is quite high. The fact that Google has a number of products that will come first to the Philippines because of English presents an opportunity for leadership in this area,” Google Southeast Asia and South Asia Frontier Vice-President Sapna Chadha said in a press briefing last week.

“Southeast Asia is rapidly transforming into a global AI hub… driven by a young, mobile-first AI population, and very strong AI adoption,” she said, noting that the investment in AI-ready infrastructure is also growing.

The company recently launched AI-powered marketing tools for Google Marketing Live, which is designed to help marketers and businesses create content and with performance optimization.

According to a Cisco report published in 2023, only 17% of organizations in the Philippines are ready to utilize and deploy AI, with most of expressing concerns about the impact of not adopting these technologies. It said almost all or about 97% of businesses recognized the urgency of adopting AI technologies, but adoption has been slower in the past years.

“For years, we’ve been at the forefront of AI-driven advertising. As consumer journeys become more complex — and resources more limited — we’re equipping marketers with our most advanced models yet: more intelligent, more agentic, and more personalized. That means faster creating, wider reach, sharper insights, and better results,” Ms. Chadha said.

According to Microsoft’s 2025 Work Trend Index report, about 89% of Philippine leaders said they are confident about having AI agents as digital team members to expand the capacity of their workforce. It also said that 80% of company leaders in the Philippines considering adding AI-focused roles. — A.E.O. Jose