The Evolution of BPO in the Philippines

The BPO sector has emerged as a key driver of the Philippines’ economy, but that may change soon. Whether for better or for worse remains to be seen.

Thanks to its pool of native English speakers, the Philippines has emerged as the top contender for business processes being outsourced. About 1.2 million professionals are directly employed by the sector and another 6 million indirectly – it is estimated that five service sector jobs are created for every business process outsourcing role.

However, that may be under threat as machines replace humans. Automation is slowly changing the landscape, even as chatbots display a human-like level of intelligence when interacting with customers.

George Yang, the founder of A.I. Pros remains optimistic. He agrees that 72% of the BPO services workforce in the Philippines is at the risk of being made redundant – but it is also an opportunity. Being able to add value in a way that machines never could is what will guarantee the future of these workers. Augmented Intelligence is about both the human and the computer working together for the best outcome, as opposed to against each other.