The Philippine outsourcing industry may retain its competitive edge over artificial intelligence (AI) as the escalating cost of operating AI tokens could discourage companies from pursuing full automation, according to property consultancy Jones Lang Lasalle (JLL) Philippines. The stakes are considerable: the business process outsourcing (BPO) sector is one of the country's largest economic pillars, employing over a million workers and generating tens of billions of dollars in annual revenue.

JLL Philippines Country Head Joey Radovan highlighted that token costs for running AI platforms have become a meaningful consideration in corporate strategy. Tokens—the basic units of text that large language models process to generate responses—are billed by volume, and costs can scale rapidly for high-volume operations such as customer service. He cited Claude Opus 5's pricing at $5 to $25 per million tokens as an example of expenses that could influence decisions around automation versus human labor.

Radovan argued that as AI companies transition to public markets and confront profitability demands, their operational costs may reach a threshold that tilts the balance back toward human workers.

"My new thesis is if it becomes more expensive, then we might just revert to human agents," Radovan said, emphasizing that traditional outsourcing remains fundamentally cost-driven.

"I'm thinking the eradication of these call center agents may not happen... the only chance we have for AI not to eradicate the jobs is that OpenAI and (others) go public. Once they're public, they come under pressure to be profitable."

Despite this outlook, JLL continues to monitor how automation could reshape workplaces over the longer term, particularly for call center bench workers. Radovan cautioned that if AI assumes those roles, as much as 70% of a typical floor could become unnecessary, leading to reduced office space requirements and diminished demand for collaborative areas. Such a reduction would carry outsized implications for Philippine commercial real estate, where BPO tenants account for a substantial share of office demand in major business districts.

JLL Research Head Janlo de los Reyes noted that while AI is increasingly factored into corporate real estate decisions, its large-scale effect on office footprints has not yet materialized.

According to the firm's Future of Work 2026 survey, 79% of organizations acknowledge the need to assess AI's impact, yet only 18% to 19% have taken concrete steps regarding their workforce in response.

"It's a consideration, but not a large driver in terms of office-based action," de los Reyes said, adding that many companies are still planning to grow headcount even as they adopt AI tools.

Rather than AI-driven consolidation, the current market is being defined by a "flight to quality," with occupiers capitalizing on softer rental rates to secure premium locations.

"We want to make sure that we have a premium address... to be able to attract talent," de los Reyes said, noting that building quality and location remain the foremost drivers of rental growth and occupancy.

JLL projects 2026 to be a "banner year" for the real estate market, supported by this flight to quality and the mixed-use rezoning of key districts such as Makati. — Juliana Chloe A. Gonzales