Personalized AI tools to help PHL businesses build consumer trust

PHILIPPINE BUSINESSES must consider upgrading to personalized artificial intelligence (AI) tools from regular chatbots to better customize client experience and deepen consumer trust, according to global professional services company Accenture, Inc.

“Like any market or geography, being able to differentiate what you’re offering to a customer will allow businesses to be more targeted, will improve their conversion rates, and will help with customer loyalty,” Arvin V. Yason, innovation lead of Accenture Philippines, said on the sidelines of media briefing last week.

Citing the Accenture Technology Vision 2025 report, Mr. Yason said about 70% of executives in Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) countries believe that chatbots are starting to sound the same and would need further differentiation.

“Leaders need to recognize that while there are early mover advantages for those adopting chatbots and agents right now, the benefits may fade as the customers become surrounded by agents that all look, talk and act the same,” he said.

Personified AI can carry a brand’s unique voice, personality, and values, he said, which can help deepen customer relationships and make them stand out.

Majority or 95% of ASEAN executives believe that establishing or maintaining a consistent personality is critical to their customer-facing AI agents in the next three years, according to the report, which surveyed over 4,021 executives across 28 countries from October to December 2024.

Companies must also ensure that their workers are equipped to handle advanced and personalized AI agents to increase their productivity, Mr. Yason said.

“Like any new technology, the main objective should be to make these tools available to as many people as possible so that they can continue to remain relevant, they can become more productive, and they can do higher value tasks,” he added.

Accenture Philippines last week unveiled its new Client Experience Center in Taguig City, which aims to showcase how businesses can reinvent their operations with the latest AI, cloud, data, and industry platforms.

The center features various zones that demonstrate personalized use cases of AI and advanced technologies in the residential, commercial, and industrial fields. It also has a Generative AI Zone, a Future of Work Zone, and café and lounge spaces for its clients.

Ambe C. Tierro, country managing director and technology lead at Accenture Philippines, said the center is a “space where clients can collaborate and co-innovate with Accenture to design and build solutions that can enable their reinvention for greater productivity and growth.” — Beatriz Marie D. Cruz