Philippine BPO group says AI creates more jobs than it displaces
MANILA, PHILIPPINES — The Customer Xperience Association of the Philippines (CXAP) is pushing back against the narrative that AI is reducing jobs in the country’s CX sector — citing growing headcount and rising revenue per worker as evidence the technology is creating more value than it is removing.
According to a report from ABS-CBN News, the group put forward sector data showing 1.68 million workers in 2025, up from 1.62 million in 2024, with a forecast of 1.73 million in 2026.
CXAP Counters AI displacement fears with jobs data
CXAP — the 25-year-old association that recently rebranded from its Contact Center identity to Customer Xperience — said that while some roles were affected, more high-value jobs were created because of AI adoption.
The headline numbers support the association’s position: the Philippine CX workforce grew by 60,000 in 2025 and is projected to add another 50,000 in 2026 — net growth, not net displacement.
CXAP Board Director Julian Valenzuela, President and CEO of Visaya KPO, argued that AI-driven automation of routine work is an extension of a process the industry has been managing for years — not a new disruption requiring a new framework.
“We believe that AI will create new types of jobs. And we are ready,” said Tonichi Achurra-Parekh, CXAP Board Director and Concentrix Philippines Vice President of Client Success & Marketing.
CXAP names AI ethicists, trainers as fastest-growing roles
Industry revenue reached $33.9 billion in 2025 and is forecast to hit $35.7 billion in 2026, with revenue per full-time employee projected to rise from approximately $20,000 in 2025 to between $21,000 and $22,000 in 2026.
CXAP President Haidee Enriquez named the roles the sector is generating: AI prompt engineers, AI trainers, AI quality controllers, and AI ethicists — positions the association describes as real and actively growing in demand.
CXAP has partnered with TESDA to prepare the workforce for AI and data roles, running upskilling programs internally alongside government-backed technical training.
A sector simultaneously growing its headcount, increasing per-worker revenue, and naming new AI-specific job titles is making a structural argument — not just a political one — that AI’s net impact on the Philippines CX industry is additive.
“AI prompt engineers, AI trainers, AI quality controllers, even AI ethicists. These jobs are real and are growing in popularity and in demand,” Enriquez said.
For enterprise CX buyers evaluating Philippines delivery, CXAP’s position is both advocacy and market signal — the association is publicly staking its value proposition on AI integration, not cost alone. Revenue per FTE growth from $20,000 to a projected $22,000 in one year is the number that will determine whether the argument holds.
