DOMESTIC exporters have moved beyond basic digital skills but still need stronger internal systems to progress toward artificial intelligence (AI)–enabled operations, according to a new study assessing Filipino exporters’ digitalization and AI readiness.
Consultant Janette Toral, author of the report, presented the findings of the study commissioned by the Philippine Exporters Confederation Inc. (Philexport) during a webinar held on Jan. 23, 2026.
The assessment found that, in terms of digital and AI maturity, the majority of exporters have progressed beyond manual workflows and the digitally emergent stage and are now in digital expansion. At this level, exporters are capable of partial tracking and documentation, early use of analytics, initial AI experimentation and strong buyer communication.
Only a few have advanced to the next stage — optimization — marked by integrated digital workflows, AI-trained staff and analytics-driven decision-making. Companies that have reached the highest tier of AI readiness, featuring AI-embedded operations, automated documentation, optical character recognition (OCR) forecasting and data-driven decisions, remain rare in the Philippines, Toral said.
“In a nutshell, exporters are AI-aware and curious, but not fully enabled,” she said.
She noted that exporters’ current use of digital tools is largely external, with strengths in content creation, marketing, product mockups and translation.
However, AI integration in internal operations remains limited, with low adoption in core export functions such as documentation, forecasting and chart-making, compliance checklists and analytics dashboards.
“Exporters are digitally connected to buyers, but internal systems must mature to support automation, AI adoption and compliance processes,” Toral said.
She added that exporters face several barriers to AI adoption, including fear of making mistakes, lack of training and shortages in IT personnel. Targeted support is needed to help exporters move toward AI-assisted documentation, OCR-based form processing, market research and pricing analysis, design and product mockup tools and automated buyer documentation.
Assessing the overall AI readiness gap, Toral said Filipino exporters are “digitally active but structurally constrained,” stressing that foundational gaps must be addressed before AI adoption can be scaled.
She identified six areas that need strengthening to advance toward AI-enabled exporting: robust digital infrastructure for integrated systems; training to build digital- and AI-ready staff; a shift toward automated and standardized documentation and operational workflows; enhanced AI-driven and multilingual marketing capabilities; stronger cybersecurity and business continuity planning (BCP); and a more coordinated exporter support system.
In line with this, Toral outlined the three-year Philexport Digital, AI, Cybersecurity and Resilience Roadmap for 2026–2028.
Phase 1 (2026) will focus on building foundations through digital and AI capacity-building programs, an AI toolkit for exporters, standardized digital documentation and basic cybersecurity and BCP templates.
Phase 2 (2027) will center on integration and scaling, including documentation automation, multilingual content workflows, AI-assisted market research and design, cybersecurity monitoring trials and buyer-matching initiatives and digital catalogs.
Phase 3 (2028) will emphasize AI expansion and ecosystem development, with advanced AI skills such as forecasting and compliance analytics, digital export ecosystems and virtual trade fairs, market intelligence dashboards and policy integration with national benchmarks.
Meanwhile, Toral said focus group discussions showed that exporters are willing and capable but constrained, noting that many are self-taught and in need of guided learning.
“Exporters prefer incremental digital adoption supported by training, templates and trusted guidance,” she said.
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