For Salesforce, the shift is not about job displacement but augmentation, where collaboration between people and machines becomes central.
As adoption accelerates, however, the extent to which countries like the Philippines benefit will depend on how quickly they can build an AI-ready workforce.
In a recent interview with Insider PH, Paul Carvouni, Salesforce senior vice president and general manager for Asean, emphasized that the company’s approach to AI is anchored in trust, data, and human collaboration as adoption accelerates across Southeast Asia.
PH seen as a high-growth AI market
Carvouni said Southeast Asia, particularly the Philippines, represents a high-growth opportunity, citing its position as a fast-growing, digital-first region with strong demographics and widespread mobile adoption.
He added that the country is strategically important due to its large population, strong English proficiency, and well-established business process outsourcing and technology ecosystem.
These factors position the country to play a leading role in AI-driven transformation.
Personal AI use driving workplace adoption
A survey conducted by YouGov and commissioned by Salesforce found that Filipino knowledge workers’ personal use of AI is helping build trust and confidence in using the technology at work.
“Seventy percent of knowledge workers in the Philippines said that their personal use of AI has increased their confidence in using AI tools at work. This trust and confidence is highest among Gen Z, with 74 percent reporting that personal AI use positively impacts their perception of AI at work,” the survey explained.
This growing familiarity signals strong momentum for enterprise adoption. However, it does not necessarily translate to readiness.
Skills gap threatens readiness
The same findings highlight a persistent skills gap. Many workers still lack clarity on the capabilities they need to develop.
“Almost half (48 percent) of Filipino knowledge workers want a better understanding of the skills they need to develop for the AI era, with the majority receiving limited training on agentic AI,” the survey noted.
Without adequate AI training, productivity may be hampered when employees misuse tools, produce inaccurate outputs or expose organizations to compliance issues.
It also warned that companies that do not provide approved AI tools risk increased use of unregulated “shadow AI.” This can lead to the exposure of sensitive data and create security risks, especially when employees lack the skills to use AI responsibly.
Salesforce expands training, local investments
Salesforce said it is expanding its investments in the Philippines beyond business growth to focus on workforce development.
The company has trained 56,000 Filipino learners through its Trailhead program—where bite-sized, conversational content makes learning complex topics easy to understand and is personalized by roles and level.
Learners may also build their career through the program to land a position in Salesforce with no degree required.
The company said it plans to continue scaling these efforts alongside hiring 12,000 Filipino workers over the next five years.
It is also supporting STEM education through partnerships with the government and localizing its AI platform by incorporating the Tagalog language into Agentforce 360, Salesforce’s AI platform that connects humans, data and AI.
Reskilling seen as key to workforce transition
Despite persistent concerns about job displacement, Salesforce maintains that AI will complement rather than replace human workers.
“We’ve got to get digital labor and human labor working together,” Carvouni said, describing AI agents as “digital workers” that operate alongside people.
He added that technological shifts historically create new roles even as they reshape existing ones. “I think that like any big technology shift, you’ll see that same creation and proliferation of new roles,” he said.
He pointed to how the rise of the internet created entirely new professions such as search engine optimization.
Rather than eliminating jobs, companies are expected to redeploy talent and invest in reskilling.
“We think about reshuffling, redeploying people from different roles and retraining them,” he said.
For Carvouni, data literacy and AI fluency will be essential skills in the future workforce. But he emphasized that human creativity and ingenuity remain at the core.
Government, regulation play critical role
Abraham Cuevas, country general manager of Salesforce Philippines, said in a report that AI won’t create large economic benefits just because individuals use it casually.
He said that even though the government is investing P2.6 billion in AI, companies need to actively adopt and scale AI to help shift the economy from service-based to innovation-driven. Faster adoption will capture the projected P2.8 trillion in productivity gains from AI.
Carvouni added that the country is well positioned to benefit from these investments, but noted that collaboration with the government will be key to ensuring the right regulatory environment for AI adoption.
Data quality and trust at the core of AI
Central to Salesforce’s strategy is the idea that AI must be grounded in reliable data and governed systems especially for enterprise use. “The AI is only as good as the data,” Carvouni said, stressing that without proper context, outputs can be inaccurate or misleading.
He said that the company is seeing growing demand for AI solutions that deliver measurable business outcomes across industries.“I really believe that every industry is being disrupted,” he said.
Rather than building AI systems from scratch, companies are increasingly turning to ready-made platforms.
Having a foundation of trusted data, he added, is essential to successful AI implementation for any organization. AI agents need the right data and context to produce actionable insights that are grounded in customer records.
PH positioned at the forefront of AI adoption
As Asean emerges as a key growth market, Salesforce is continuing to expand its presence in the Philippines, including opening a local office and growing its workforce.
Beyond growth, the company sees the country playing a larger role in shaping how AI is deployed responsibly in Southeast Asia.
“I think the Philippines has a unique opportunity to be right on the front end,” he said. —Ed: Corrie S. Narisma
Content Producer
