Interview: Kris Villongco from CUE Digital International

Artificial intelligence is reshaping how brands communicate across Southeast Asia, from customer service to content development. In the Philippines, linguistic complexity, cultural nuance and distinct digital behaviours make integration more complex than it may appear.
 
Telum spoke with Kris Villongco, General Manager at CUE Philippines, on audience dynamics, the role of AI in storytelling, and the capabilities communicators will need in the years ahead.

How would you describe the Philippine communications landscape when it comes to AI adoption? What makes it unique? 
AI adoption in the Philippines is moving fast, keeping pace with the rest of Southeast Asia. Much like the early rise of social media, Filipinos have since made it an essential component of their everyday communication, activities, and day-to-day habits. Today, AI is taking a similar path, expanding across industries with mobile touchpoints and increasingly powering customer service and support experiences.

What makes the Philippines unique is the way we communicate. Codeswitching - commonly referred to as Taglish or Engalog – is used even in professional settings, and the local language plays a critical role in building connections and relevance. Yet, most AI tools still struggle with this linguistic blend, making localisation both a challenge and an opportunity for communicators.

How can brands integrate AI into comms strategies while keeping the human touch, cultural context, and emotional intelligence intact? 
It starts with strategy: know your brand, audience, and core message before deciding where AI fits. 

Once the foundation is set, AI can support communications in a number of ways - from processing large datasets and social listening, to identifying what resonates with audiences and assisting with content development or idea testing.
 
That said, the human element remains essential. AI can make processes more efficient, but storytelling needs to come from communicators on the ground. Filipino audiences are highly context-driven, so empathy, humour, and intuition must guide storytelling to ensure the content feels authentic and aligned with local realities. Blending AI’s efficiency with human judgement allows brands to deliver content that feels both smart and genuinely connected. Even a single misplaced phrase or overlooked cultural cue can undermine the most sophisticated AI output.

What key challenges do you foresee in integrating AI and PR in the Philippines' market?
Accessibility is a major hurdle, as not every organisation is prepared to invest in or integrate AI tools effectively. Using AI well requires more than adoption - it demands a thoughtful approach to workflows, resourcing, and the redeployment of human effort toward higher-value tasks that AI cannot do, and how these tools can genuinely enhance communication outcomes.
   
Localisation is another challenge. Beyond codeswitching, the Philippines is geographically and culturally diverse. What works in Metro Manila may not resonate in Cebu or Cagayan de Oro. While AI can provide insights and highlight trends, human expertise is still needed to interpret data and ensure outputs are culturally accurate and contextually appropriate. Without this oversight, messages risk being tone-deaf or disconnected from local realities. 

Looking ahead, what are the ways in which PR professionals in the Philippines can upskill or adapt to an AI-powered industry?  
My advice to PR professionals would be to approach AI with curiosity instead of fear. At its core, PR is driven by both data and experience‑based insights, and AI is simply another tool that can amplify what practitioners already do well when used strategically. The key is understanding how to use it in ways that support your work before you rely on it, and to start experimenting early so you can shape how it fits into your workflows rather than being shaped by it.

AI is not designed to replace people; it is meant to handle the heavy lifting, freeing practitioners to focus on judgement, nuance and human intelligence - the areas where machines cannot replicate.