Smart Communications Inc. (Smart), the wireless unit of PLDT Group, has joined forces with Google Cloud to enhance the accessibility of essential digital services for Filipinos, with technical implementation support provided by Searce. 

Smart, as a Communication Services Provider (CSP) will integrate into its operations Telecom Subscriber Insights, Google Cloud’s AI-powered solution. This technology absorbs data from various sources, delivers contextual insights on subscribers’ likelihood to use services, and offers personalized recommendations for their devices, facilitating activation.

According to Smart, mobile connectivity in the rapidly growing digital economy in the Philippines, which is projected to increase by 20% annually until 2025, has become increasingly integral to how Filipinos access vital services. 

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“As CSPs are increasingly put under pressure to deliver transformative customer experiences tailored to individual needs, the ability to navigate and understand complex datasets has become critical for achieving success,” said Gabriele Di Piazza, senior director, Global Product Management, Telecommunications, Google Cloud.

Consumer insights

By leveraging Telecom Subscriber Insights to securely analyze customer data hosted on Google Cloud, Smart will gain a deeper understanding of how Filipinos engage with digital services and identify pain points in their everyday usage. This, in turn, will inform the development of services that empower Filipinos to better comprehend, manage, and optimize their mobile data consumption.

Smart will employ Telecom Subscriber Insights to create more inclusive mobile services by detecting both connectivity patterns and gaps. With real-time insights derived from customer data, Smart can assist subscribers in optimizing their data consumption while streaming content, for example, by alerting users to adjust their video resolution. Subscribers can also be prompted to top up their prepaid plans through their devices, utilizing local digital payment services, rather than having to physically visit a store to purchase prepaid credits.

Smart aims to enhance subscribers’ interactions with agents and chatbots by integrating Google Cloud’s generative AI (gen AI) capabilities, including Google’s first-party foundation models for text summarization and ongoing conversation maintenance, with Telecom Subscriber Insights. 

Utilizing Google Cloud’s Vertex AI platform, Smart can access and fine-tune snapshots of these models, align their responses with their own private database, and integrate them into their services. This integration will enable Smart’s subscribers to engage with natural-sounding virtual agents offering personalized and accessible insights and data consumption optimization solutions.

“Google Cloud’s enterprise-grade AI solutions will allow us to give our subscribers simpler, quicker, and more affordable access to the data services most aligned to their evolving digital lifestyles, while guiding our efforts to boost mobile connectivity across the country,” said Emmanuel Lorenzana, chief transformation and customer officer, PLDT Inc.