THE Aboitiz Group, a prominent Philippine conglomerate, has taken a significant step in embracing artificial intelligence (AI) by introducing Elsie and Albert, the company’s first AI-powered “digital team members.”
Unveiled at the annual Aboitiz Group Leaders Conference in May, these digital avatars, with human-like forms and independent expressions, showcased their ability to answer questions and summarize presentations using their own voices.
Wolfgang Merkt, Vice President for Transformative Technology at Aboitiz Equity Ventures, explained that Elsie and Albert offer more than just generic chatbot functionality. They have been specifically programmed with Philippine and Aboitiz Group-specific business context, utilizing internal documents and data for accurate and targeted responses.
“Elsie and Albert can make use of the vast background knowledge that we feed them,” said Merkt. “So this is anything from press releases and annual reports, to internal company documents or public websites. They can look the data up and then use those in their responses and synthesize information from it.”
The digital team members’ human-like appearance, modeled after two Aboitiz employees, is intended to make them more approachable and encourage interaction among staff. Merkt noted that this design choice reduces inhibition and fosters a more comfortable user experience.
The Aboitiz Group plans to further develop Elsie and Albert, expanding their capabilities and use cases within the organization. Their potential applications include both internal and external-facing roles, leveraging their ability to process and analyze vast amounts of company data.
While Elsie and Albert represent a significant step forward in AI integration, Merkt emphasized that they are not intended to replace human employees. Rather, their purpose is to augment and optimize work processes, making simple tasks faster and more efficient.
He affirmed that AI is ultimately a tool to be used by people, and the company’s employees have thus far enjoyed the support and interactions provided by their new virtual colleagues.
Dea Franko Csuba, Vice President of Transformation at Aboitiz Equity Ventures, highlighted the company’s commitment to technological advancement, stating, “In today’s rapidly evolving technological landscape, the imperative for leaders and professionals to adapt and transform is key. This is why we keep People and Technology transformation in the forefront of our Great Transformation efforts and the seamless collaboration of our human and AI colleagues is a great example of how we can build an exciting future together with smart technologies.”
