Philippine organizations are outpacing their regional counterparts in setting key performance indicators (KPIs) for artificial intelligence (AI), but infrastructure and data gaps could undermine returns on investment (RoI), according to data activation company Boomi.

A study conducted by Omdia for Boomi found that 73% of Philippine firms have launched active AI initiatives, and 50% have established KPIs to measure the success of these efforts — the highest rate in the Asia-Pacific region.

"Philippine organizations are not only experimenting with AI, but they're also thinking about how to measure its impact. 50% of them already have KPIs in place to measure success. That definitely shows they have a very business-minded approach," Boomi Chief Technology Officer David Irecki told BusinessWorld in an online interview.

The study indicated that AI adoption in the Philippines is driven largely by the country's service-oriented economy, particularly in banking, business process outsourcing (BPO), and retail — sectors where AI can immediately improve customer interaction and process efficiency. The Philippines is one of the world's largest BPO destinations, employing over a million workers, which makes process automation and AI-driven efficiency particularly consequential for the country's competitiveness in a sector facing both opportunities and disruption from generative AI.

Nine in ten Philippine organizations also believe AI-enabled automation will significantly reshape their business processes within the next two to three years.

However, an RoI gap persists: only half of Philippine firms currently use an integration platform-led approach. This leads to fragmented data across disconnected systems, which could hamper the delivery of business value — a challenge enterprises globally face as AI initiatives scale beyond pilot projects without underlying data architecture keeping pace. Shadow integrations — unmanaged or unofficial data connections — further compromise data quality.

"If data is being moved or transformed through unmanaged channels, the organization doesn't know where the data came from, whether it's current, whether it has changed, or who has access to it," Mr. Irecki added.

To address these risks, 93% of Philippine organizations plan to transition toward a unified, enterprise AI-ready platform, while 92% aim to reduce "tool sprawl" to manage costs and operational risks. Additionally, 97% of firms believe AI will demand an increased focus on data quality and governance policies. The widespread intent to consolidate platforms and strengthen governance signals that the gap between ambition and infrastructure may narrow as organizations move from experimentation to scaled deployment. — Juliana Chloe A. Gonzales