Study: 71% of Filipinos want clearer brand terms as AI grows more pervasive

While businesses in the Philippines rapidly embrace automation and personalisation technologies, a new report from Twilio warned that failure to communicate openly with customers could undermine even the most advanced engagement strategies. 

A growing number of Filipino consumers are urging brands to be more transparent, with 71% calling for clearer terms and conditions in their interactions with companies. Meanwhile, 68% of Filipino consumers want to be explicitly informed when they’re talking to AI - the highest among APAC markets surveyed.

The cloud communications company’s 2025 State of Customer Engagement Report - based on surveys of over 7,600 consumers and 600 business leaders globally - revealed that Filipino consumers are among the region’s most vocal in calling for clarity when it comes to AI-driven interactions.

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This comes as nearly all (97%) of Philippine businesses say AI is improving customer-facing operations, from marketing to support, uncovering a gap between technological ambition and evolving consumer expectations. 

“Filipino consumers have embraced brands that use AI, but there’s a major caveat - engagement must feel natural and be grounded in trust,” said Nicholas Kontopoulos, vice president of marketing for Asia Pacific and Japan at Twilio, as quoted by Manila Standard.

“This year’s report shows that while brands are taking engagement up a notch, technology alone isn’t the answer. Filipino consumers are leading the region in calling for transparency, and the companies that step up will truly unlock the potential of AI and earn customer loyalty,” he added.

Across the country’s competitive digital economy, brands are racing to integrate AI into personalisation efforts, with 53% now using it to deliver tailored content, support, and real-time offers. Half of those brands have already seen a measurable rise in customer spend.

Yet even as AI begins to justify its price tag, pitfalls remain. Security risks (57%) and data quality concerns (47%) are the biggest barriers to scaling AI with confidence, Twilio’s report noted. Meanwhile, only 20% of Filipino consumers “absolutely” trust brands with their data, and nearly two-thirds (63%) believe businesses use that data for their own benefit - not the customer’s.

This lack of trust is costly. A striking 85% of Filipino consumers say they walk away from purchases when the customer experience feels generic or poorly timed. On the other hand, 99% are more likely to complete purchases, and 71% are willing to spend more, when the interaction is personalised in real time. Yet fewer than half (45%) of local businesses say they’re delivering that level of responsiveness.

Although AI is increasingly accepted, Filipinos remain sensitive to how it is deployed. A resounding 80% believe AI-powered brand interactions should feel human. More importantly, customers want control: from choosing how their data is used to deciding whether they’re contacted via email, social media, SMS, or voice.

Twilio’s findings suggest that leading brands are already adapting. Rather than relying on plug-and-play solutions, 93% of Philippine businesses say they intend to build their own custom customer experience tools. These investments aim to improve data quality, enable richer insights, and deliver more relevant conversations.

One area to watch is Rich Communication Services (RCS) - a next-gen messaging protocol seen as a potential game-changer for mobile-first markets. Two-thirds (67%) of businesses in the Philippines say they plan to adopt RCS once it becomes available, hoping to provide a more interactive and visually rich alternative to SMS.

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