Philippines CEOs lead global AI adoption – IBM

A study conducted by IBM Institute for Business Value in cooperation with Oxford Economics, showed that 80 percent of Philippine CEO respondents are comfortable making major strategic decisions using AI-generated insights, well above the 64-percent global average.

It also showed that 73 percent of Philippine executives surveyed believe many tactical and operational decisions would be made faster and more effectively by AI than by people, higher than 57 percent with the same view globally.

Conducted from the February to April 2026, the study surveyed 2,000 CEOs and equivalent senior leaders across 33 geographies and 21 industries.

“Philippine CEOs surveyed are among the most decisive in embracing AI and yet, only a fraction say they have a clear vision for how it will deliver competitive advantage,” BM Philippines country general manager and technology leader Leo Capinpin said.

Capinpin said that gap shows the need for organizations to rethink how they operate.

“The companies that will come out ahead are those that move beyond treating AI as a project and start running their business with AI at the core,” he said.

The study found that new challenges are redefining leadership demands, with 97 percent of Philippine CEOs surveyed saying all functional leaders must become technology experts within their domains.

While Philippine CEOs are turning to AI for decision-making, 90 percent believe that the technology’s success hinges more on employee adoption than on the technology itself.

As such, upskilling and reskilling employees are becoming more important.

The study showed that Philippine respondents expect 31 percent of employees to require reskilling for a different role.

Meanwhile, 55 percent will need upskilling to be more effective in their current role. — Louella Desiderio