Philippine companies are increasingly looking at artificial intelligence (AI) not only to improve productivity and reduce costs, but also to generate new revenue streams and expand how they serve customers, an American enterprise software company said.
Salesforce Vice President and Chief Technology Officer for Solutions in Asean Gavin Barfield said companies in the country are exploring agentic AI as a way to scale operations, particularly in industries that serve large customer bases.
‘The Philippines and India and other countries in Asean are similar. They have huge populations, and with huge populations, the ability to scale is often a challenge,’ Barfield said during a virtual media briefing on Wednesday.
He cited customer-service operations as an area where companies could use AI to handle large volumes of interactions while allowing human workers to focus on more complex cases.
‘We’re seeing companies looking at AI, not just in terms of productivity gains, but also in terms of driving the top line,’ Barfield said.
This includes using AI to open new revenue streams, improve customer service and attract new customers. Companies are also using AI for lead qualification, allowing sales teams to prioritize prospects and respond more efficiently.
Customer-service agents powered by AI can operate around the clock and respond to customers in real time, while human employees take over cases requiring more complex intervention, he said.
The comments came as Salesforce unveiled AIforce, a new interface layer designed to bring its data, workflows and business logic into other platforms where employees and AI agents work.
The company said AIforce allows users to interact with Salesforce through platforms such as Slack and Claude instead of navigating the Salesforce application itself. Users can ask questions, update records and trigger workflows using natural-language prompts.
Barfield said such applications could be particularly relevant in the Philippines, where companies serve large customer bases and face the challenge of scaling operations.
AI could allow companies to handle more customer interactions without relying entirely on additional manpower, he said.
He added that companies are also using the technology to make sales processes more efficient, particularly in identifying and qualifying leads.
Barfield said the country has significant room to use AI beyond internal efficiency, particularly in activities that directly affect customers and revenue.
‘There’s a massive amount of opportunity in the Philippines, and we’re seeing great interest from customers to use this technology both to boost productivity, but also to find new revenue streams.’
Based on Salesforce research released in March, about 45 percent of Philippine knowledge workers expected to use AI to both augment and automate tasks, while 68 percent said personal use of AI had increased their trust in using AI at work.
Further, the company has previously cited a Google estimate that widespread AI adoption could unlock a P2.8-trillion (or $50.7-billion) economic opportunity for the Philippines by 2030.
Meanwhile, the Philippine digital economy reached P2.74 trillion in gross value added in 2025, equivalent to 9.8 percent of the country’s gross domestic product, according to the Philippine Statistics Authority. It employed 10.39 million people, or 21.2 percent of total employment.