CEBU CITY, Philippines — The Philippine customer experience and business process management sector is expected to sustain its growth momentum in 2026 despite mounting global economic and political uncertainties, industry leaders said.
The contact center-business process management (CC-BPM) industry is projected to grow by 5.31 percent to $35.7 billion this year, from an estimated $33.9 billion in 2025, according to data presented during the Contact Islands 2026 conference in Cebu.
Industry executives said the outlook remains strong even as companies worldwide grapple with geopolitical tensions in the Middle East, shifting policies in Western economies, and the rapid rise of artificial intelligence technologies that are reshaping workplaces globally.
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“The CC-BPM sector’s performance is on track and is expected to remain strong, aligning with the 2028 roadmap targets of the IT-BPM industry,” said CXAP Chairman Mitch Locsin during his report at the annual industry gathering.
“The figures reinforce continuous progress and long-term transformation of the sector,” he added.
Revenues, employment
The sector generated $33.9 billion in revenues in 2025, up 6.94 percent from $31.7 billion in 2024.
The industry accounted for more than 84 percent of the total revenues of the Philippine information technology and business process management sector, which reached $40.3 billion last year.
Employment growth also remained steady.
The industry hired more than 60,000 workers in 2025, bringing total employment to 1.68 million full-time employees, equivalent to nearly 89 percent of the IT-BPM workforce.
Employment is projected to rise further to 1.73 million in 2026.
Industry leaders said the sustained expansion reflected the sector’s successful transition from traditional voice-based services to higher-value customer experience and AI-assisted operations.
“The Philippine CX sector has positioned itself for the next phase of growth as AI transforms global service delivery and creates new opportunities for higher-value, human-led work,” said Benedict Hernandez, president and founding board member of the Customer Xperience Association of the Philippines (CXAP).
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Executives emphasized that artificial intelligence is increasingly being integrated into operations, not as a replacement for workers but as a tool that enhances productivity and enables more specialized services.
AI adoption
Based on CXAP’s 2026 Executive Survey, 52 percent of participating firms reported moderate adoption of AI technologies, while 43 percent said they were already scaling AI integration across operations.
The most widely adopted technologies include generative AI, predictive analytics, chatbots, agentic AI, and robotic process automation.
At the same time, companies identified talent readiness, implementation costs, data quality, and change management as among the biggest barriers to expanding AI use.
The industry is also seeing rising demand for new skill sets and emerging roles tied to AI integration.
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Among the most in-demand capabilities are AI and automation skills, digital and IT expertise, customer relationship management, and data analytics.
New job categories are also emerging, including prompt engineers, AI trainers, AI maintenance officers, CX AI solutions architects, and AI ethicists.
Locsin said the industry’s traditional high-volume services were gradually evolving into more specialized and domain-driven customer support functions.
“The core contact center and transactional BPM services are undergoing strong maturity, while growth in higher-value BPM and emerging CX capabilities continues to rise,” he said.
During the conference, the Contact Center Association of the Philippines also formally rebranded into the Customer Xperience Association of the Philippines, prompted by the sector’s broader shift toward AI-enabled and multi-channel customer experience services.
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