Smart Communications, the mobile services arm of PLDT Group, will analyse customer data to understand how customers engage with digital services and the challenges they encounter in daily usage.
This will help develop services to improve customers’ understanding, management, and optimisation of mobile data consumption.
The company will use Google Cloud’s AI-powered solution - Telecom Subscriber Insights - that ingests data from various sources, provides contextual insights on subscribers’ propensity to consume services, and presents personalised recommendations to devices for activation.
US-based consulting firm Searce is providing technical implementation support.
PLDT’s chief transformation and customer officer, Emmanuel C. Lorenzana, said the speed of digital change had created anxiety amongst Filipinos about running low on data in need - from booking a ride-hailing service on an app to completing important financial transactions.
Google Cloud’s enterprise-grade AI solutions will allow subscribers simpler, quicker, and affordable access to the data services aligned to evolving digital lifestyles while guiding efforts to boost mobile connectivity across the country,” he added.
Smart will also use Telecom Subscriber Insights to design inclusive mobile services for subscribers by identifying patterns and gaps in connectivity.
According to the firm, with real-time insights from customer data hosted on Google Cloud, it intends to help subscribers optimise data consumption while streaming content by alerting the user to adjust the resolution of their video.
Subscribers could also be prompted to top up prepaid plans on devices through integrations with local digital payments services instead of having to locate a physical store to purchase a prepaid load, it added.
To optimise personal data consumption
Smart is looking to gain capabilities that enable subscribers to better interact with agents and chatbots by integrating Google Cloud’s generative AI capabilities, including Google’s first-party foundation models for summarising text and maintaining an ongoing conversation with Telecom Subscriber Insights.
It will use Google Cloud’s Vertex AI platform to access and tune snapshots of these models, ground responses with its private corpus, and integrate into its services,
This could enable subscribers to engage with natural-sounding virtual agents, providing personalised and user-friendly guidance on how to enhance and manage personal data usage, the company said.
Google Cloud’s senior director, global product management, telecommunications, Gabriele Di Piazza, said as communication service providers (CSPs) need to deliver transformative customer experiences tailored to individual needs, the ability to navigate and understand complex datasets has become critical for achieving success.
"With Telecom Subscriber Insights, Smart can extract customer insights in real-time while leveraging the product’s machine learning capabilities to inform digital sales opportunities based on customer readiness, price sensitivity, and lifetime value,” he added.
