The deployment reflects growing interest among Philippine companies in using AI not just for customer-facing services but also for internal operations such as risk oversight and compliance.
The big picture
ERICA — or the Enterprise Risk Intelligence Companion Agent — was developed internally by the PLDT Group’s enterprise risk management team in collaboration with PLDT and Smart’s information technology group and enterprise automation software provider UiPath.
The solution runs on UiPath’s platform for agentic automation, which enables AI agents to autonomously execute and optimize complex business processes.
ERICA was designed to make risk assessments more consistent across the organization while reducing manual effort at different stages of the process.
How it works
The AI-powered system helps teams analyze operational data, identify potential risk areas, and translate complex information into clearer insights that can be reviewed and acted on more quickly.
By automating parts of the risk assessment process, ERICA allows teams to focus more on insights and decision-making rather than administrative tasks.
“For the PLDT Group, the real value of ERICA goes beyond the technology itself,” Gilbert O. Gaw, PLDT and Smart first vice-president and group head of the information technology and transformation office, said in a statement.
“It reflects how we are embedding innovation into core enterprise functions in a way that is deliberate, disciplined, and aligned with how the business actually works,” he said.
Between the lines
ERICA was designed to adapt to the needs of different business units, helping teams understand the impact of operational changes and identify the most critical risks that need to be managed.
For the group’s risk leaders, the system aims to improve the quality and consistency of enterprise-wide risk oversight.
“ERICA brings greater clarity and consistency to how we manage risk across the Group,” said Leah B. Jimenez, PLDT and Smart first vice-president and group head for enterprise risk management and chief data privacy officer.
Yes, but…
Human oversight remains central to the system’s design. All outputs generated by ERICA are reviewed and validated by risk professionals, with traceability maintained through existing governance systems.
What they’re saying
“Our collaboration with the PLDT Group represents UiPath’s first telco application of agentic AI in Southeast Asia,” said Amit Khandelwal, regional vice-president and managing director for Southeast Asia at UiPath.
What’s next
PLDT said it plans to expand the use of agentic AI across more business units while continuing to work with UiPath to strengthen enterprise resilience and support better decision-making as the organization grows. | Ed: Corrie S. Narisma
