By Beatriz Marie D. Cruz, Reporter
SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA — Flag carrier Philippine Airlines (PAL) is investing in artificial intelligence (AI) technology to enhance customer experience and operational efficiency, starting with AI-driven voice bots and a unified data platform that goals to deliver more personalized engagement.
PAL Vice-President for Customer Experience Mark Anthony C. Munsayac said the corporate is piloting a proof of concept for its Generative AI-powered voice agent this quarter, which is designed to handle as much as 80% of the tasks performed by live agents.
“The tool will use a natural-sounding bot powered by GenAI and can give you the chance to perform as much as 80% of the tasks that a [PAL] live agent can perform,” he told BusinessWorld on Oct. 15 here.
The AI voice agent will assist customers in checking flight status, rebooking, or canceling tickets. PAL expects the technology to automate 50-70% of inquiries, with the rest handled by human agents.
“For PAL, by March 2026, we must be achieving the super AI agent status — that’s for e-mail, chat, and voice,” he said, noting that the transformation will allow AI to each answer queries and execute service tasks.
Since launching its GenAI chatbot in June, PAL has recorded a forty five% deflection rate, indicating that almost half of customer concerns are being resolved without human intervention.
Despite this, Mr. Munsayac said PAL will proceed to take care of live agents to cater to passengers preferring personal interaction, particularly from older demographics.
“Our strategy is human plus the AI agent working together. Within the foreseeable future, I don’t expect PAL to eliminate live agents. We all the time want to offer that choice to passengers,” he said.
PAL currently receives as much as 8,000 customer concerns each day, he added.
Beyond AI voice and chat, the airline is developing a unified communication platform that may consolidate customer-related data from marketing, services, and sales. The system will use machine learning to research customer behavior and generate targeted offers.
“It’s integrating and unifying all the shopper engagement data that now we have so we will get to know our customers on a private level,” Mr. Munsayac said. “That may help improve customer experience and drive revenue for us.”
He said the system may even address data silos and ensure compliance with data privacy laws.
“After we give you something, it’s not random — it needs to be something relevant to your trip or to you as an individual,” he said.
Based on the 2025 State of Customer Engagement Report by US-based cloud communications firm Twilio, 71% of Philippine consumers are willing to spend more when a brand’s engagement is personalized in real time.