CEBU CITY – As part of a major rebranding, the Philippine customer experience (CX) industry is entering its new growth era, where artificial intelligence (AI) plays a significant role in increasing the value of human-powered customer interactions instead of replacing local workforce.

Signaling a timely evolution of the 25-year organization, the Contact Center Association of the Philippines (CCAP) has rebranded to Customer Xperience Association of the Philippines (CXAP).

The rebranding was unveiled during Contact Islands, an annual conference for the sector's leaders and stakeholders that kicked off Tuesday, May 26, at the Shangri-la Mactan, Cebu.

With the theme Reimagining CX, Shaping the World, the conference is marking its 10th year, a milestone that ushers in the industry's next chapter, from being a traditional call center to a human-powered, AI-enabled customer experience industry with stronger and greater value.

"Today, we are delivering sophisticated, AI-enabled, multi-channel customer experience (CX) solutions to the world," said Haidee C. Enriquez, CEO of Microsourcing and Beepo, and president of CXAP. "Our people are no longer simply handling transactions. They are solving problems, building relationships, and creating value. As the industry evolved, we realized our industry evolved (as well); we realized (that) our identity needed to evolve with it."

Enriquez noted that the new identity represents a dynamic industry that remains "prepared to lead in a world shaped by both human capability and intelligent technology." She emphasized that CX is not driven solely by AI but also by people and technology that render better experiences and stronger connections to customers around the globe.

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

The sector is once again leading, setting a precedent and a role model as to how other industries should address the impact of change, particularly AI.

"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 CXAP.

Based on CXAP Chairman Mitch Locsin’s report presented during conference, the Contact Center-Business Process Management (CC-BPM) sector’s overall annual revenue strongly grew 6.94 percent from $31.7 billion in 2024 to $33.9 billion in 2025.

It is forecast to grow by about 5.31 percent to $35.7 billion in 2026 despite the global economic challenges like geopolitical tension in the Middle East, uncertainties in local politics, risks in changing policies in Western countries, and the impact of AI on workplaces.

In 2025, the actual sectoral revenue accounted for up to 84.12 percent of the total revenue of the IT-BPM (Information Technology-Business Process Management) industry amounting to $40.3 billion.

“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 Locsin. “The figures reinforce continuous progress and long-term transformation of the sector.”

The sector also remains a major employment generator; the current indicators point to continuous growth of the volume of full-time employees (FTEs). Still based on the CXAP president’s report, the CC-BPM sector hired over 60,000 agents in 2025 (a growth of about four percent), bringing the sector’s FTE total to 1.68 million, which accounts for up to 89 percent of the overall FTEs of the entire IT-BPM industry. It is forecast to grow to 1.73 million in 2026.