The domestic contact center industry is projected to grow revenues by five percent to more than $35 billion this year, driven by the sector’s resilience amid external pressures and the growing role of artificial intelligence (AI) in customer experience.

The Customer Xperience Association of the Philippines (CXAP) expects revenues of the contact center and business process management (CC-BPM) sector to increase to $35.7 billion in 2026 from the $33.9 billion recorded in 2025.

In terms of employment, CXAP estimates that the sector’s workforce will reach 1.73 million workers, up nearly three percent from last year’s 1.68 million employees.

“The CC-BPM sector’s performance is on track and is expected to remain strong, aligning with the 2028 roadmap targets of the IT [information technology]-BPM industry,” said CXAP chairman Mitch Locsin.

Under the 2028 roadmap of the IT and Business Process Association of the Philippines (IBPAP), the CC-BPM sector is expected to hit a baseline target of $40.4 billion in revenues by that year, with a more aggressive target of $49 billion.

Meanwhile, the IT-BPM sector is projected to achieve a baseline revenue target of $48.4 billion in 2028, while the aggressive target stands at $58.9 billion.

For this year, the IT-BPM sector’s baseline target is to generate $42 billion in revenues while creating job opportunities for 1.97 million workers.

Under this forecast, the CC-BPM sector would account for 85 percent of revenues and 87 percent of the workforce.

Locsin said the CC-BPM sector remains poised for growth this year amid resilient demand for customer experience delivery despite uncertainties such as geopolitical tensions in the Middle East and local political developments.

“The core contact center and transactional BPM services are undergoing strong maturity, while growth in higher-value BPM and emerging CC capabilities continue to rise. At the same time, traditional high-volume CC-BPM services are evolving toward more specialized domain-driven support for inbound and outbound customer interactions,” he said.

While risks involving AI and its impact on job roles remain, CXAP said the sector is taking the lead in integrating the technology into CC-BPM processes to help workers adapt and remain competitive.

The industry group said the rise of AI has led to the creation of new job opportunities such as prompt engineer, AI trainer, AI content strategist, AI solutions architect, and AI ethicist.

It has also resulted in the development of new functions in areas such as marketing, procurement, consulting, and customer journey mapping, among others.

At present, the most in-demand proficiencies among workers include automation skills, customer relationship management, data analytics, and leadership and management.

CXAP, the umbrella organization of the country’s contact center industry, said the growing role of AI in the CC-BPM sector prompted the group to rebrand from its previous name, the Contact Center Association of the Philippines (CCAP).

CXAP president Haidee Enriquez said the change reflects the industry’s embrace of AI in customer experience while maintaining the human connection that helps businesses engage more closely with customers.

“No matter how advanced technology becomes, it is still human empathy, connection, and ingenuity that will continue to define exceptional customer experience,” she said. “And as we move into this next chapter, we recognize that the future we are building will require all of us moving forward together.”