More than half of chief executive officers (CEOs) in the Philippines are adopting artificial intelligence (AI) agents, according to a new global study by the IBM Institute for Business Value.
The annual IBM CEO study, which surveyed 2,000 CEOs globally, including 210 across ASEAN and the Philippines, revealed that executive respondents expect the growth rate of AI investments to more than double in the next two years.
Just over half of surveyed Philippine CEOs (55 percent) are actively adopting AI agents and preparing to implement them at scale.
The study found that 63 percent of surveyed Philippine CEOs prioritize AI use cases based on return on investment (ROI). However, only 23 percent reported that their AI initiatives have delivered expected returns so far, suggesting a mismatch between investment priorities and results.
About 73 percent of Philippine CEO respondents identified integrated enterprise-wide data architecture as critical for cross-functional collaboration, and 63 percent viewed their organization’s proprietary data as key to unlocking the value of generative AI.
“Business leaders in ASEAN are under pressure to demonstrate ROI from AI while needing to invest in long-term capabilities to stay competitive. This balancing act is made even more complex by the region’s fragmented digital landscape, with varying national regulations and inconsistent standards for cross-border data flow,” said Abraham Thomas, managing partner for ASEAN at IBM Consulting.
“As Philippine organizations accelerate AI adoption in order to stay ahead in a dynamic market, their success to unlock real business value from their investments will hinge on overcoming challenges in data integration and workforce readiness,” Thomas said.
Only 23 percent of Philippine CEOs reported that AI initiatives have delivered expected ROI over the last few years, and 17 percent have scaled enterprise-wide.
About 60 percent of CEOs surveyed said it is better to be “fast and wrong” than “right and slow” when it comes to technology adoption.
The study found that 58 percent of surveyed CEOs admitted their organization struggles to balance funding for existing operations and investment in innovation when unexpected change occurs.
About 65 percent of CEO respondents said more budget flexibility is needed to capitalize on digital opportunities that drive long-term growth and innovation.
About 78 percent of surveyed CEOs said their organization’s success is directly tied to maintaining a broad group of leaders with a deep understanding of strategy and the authority to make critical decisions.
About 60 percent of CEO respondents said that differentiation depends on having the right expertise in the right positions with the right incentives.
Surveyed CEOs indicated that roughly one-third (31 percent) of the workforce in the Philippines will require retraining and/or reskilling over the next three years.
About 60 percent of executive respondents said they are hiring for roles related to AI that did not exist a year ago.
