ePLDT, the ICT subsidiary of PLDT, has forged a strategic partnership with Singapore-based WIZ.AI to expand its multi-cloud offerings to include WIZ.AI Talkbot, a next-generation conversational voice AI-powered customer engagement solution.
With the partnership, the companies aim to help enterprises in the Philippines leverage cloud and artificial intelligence technologies to enhance their customer service capabilities. To ensure service uptime in the Philippines, WIZ.AI will be hosting its AI solutions in ePLDT’s VITRO Data Center.
“It is our goal to help enterprises accelerate digital transformation. Our partnership with WIZ.AI will help make Conversational AI accessible to enterprises in the Philippines, essentially enhancing operational efficiency and improving customer experience to their end users,” said Victor S. Genuino, ePLDT President and CEO.
The collaboration intends to bring customer service in the Philippines to another level with enterprises across different industries benefiting from improved client engagement while optimizing cost-efficiency and fostering profit growth.
The PLDT Group and WIZ.AI held a contract signing on August 30 at the PLDT Global Singapore office. The ceremony was led by Genuino, Jianfeng Lu, Wiz.AI Chairman, Jennifer Zhang, WIZ.AI CEO, and Mitch L. Locsin, PLDT and Smart First Vice President and Head of Enterprise and International Business Groups.
To kick off the partnership, ePLDT deployed the WIZ.AI TalkBot solution to PLDT and Smart to do payment reminder calls to their PLDT Home and Smart Postpaid customers. After six months, the companies have reported an 82% increase in average productive calls per day and substantial savings in their operational expenditures.
WIZ.AI Talkbot provides humanized and hyper-localized conversational AI solution, which understands and intelligently responds to 11 languages and accents including Tagalog/Taglish and English. It provides round-the-clock automated customer service. Its ability to automate basic routine tasks effectively reduces the call load of human agents and enables employees to concentrate on more complex tasks where they can add the most value.
“By working together, WIZ.AI and ePLDT can change the way companies engage with customers, gather data, streamline workflow, and improve efficiency. The purpose of any AI solution is to empower humans, not to replace them,” noted Lu.
Genuino is optimistic the addition of WIZ.AI’s services to ePLDT’s offerings can potentially accelerate the digital evolution of its clients. He also looks forward to the AI technology being able to learn extensive language models, including Cebuano, Ilocano, and other Philippine dialects, to better cater to a broader customer base in the Philippines.
“Artificial intelligence is the way of the future, evolving, improving, embedding itself more in our way of life, our businesses, and in government operations. This alliance with WIZ.AI is yet another demonstration of ePLDT’s proactive approach in leveraging innovative technologies to meet the evolving demands of the digital era and deliver bespoke solutions that empower our customers as they navigate their way in this digital age,” said Genuino.
