Manila Calling: Why AI Hasn’t Stolen the Night Shift Yet from the Call Centre Capital

My work involves interviewing and shadowing Filipino contact centre staff. I meet some face-to-face in Manila, and chat with others virtually from Cebu. They spend their shifts moderating content or taking customer service calls for a tech giant (you know the one: its name is a verb these days). Most work the night shift, spending long hours speaking a second language. Yet, a clever trick makes their nights easier. They now use in-house AI tools to, say, instantly tidy their emails into perfect corporate speak.

Oddly enough, many of them are huge fans of the very technology experts swore would ruin their careers. Last year, tech bosses confidently declared that AI would wipe out customer support jobs. But in the Philippines, where offshore work generates roughly 8% of GDP, business is thriving.

Industry figures show around 1.9 million Filipinos were working in offshore services by late 2025. That is a massive 20% jump from just three years prior. The money flowing in is still climbing too.

Why haven’t robots taken over yet?

Put simply, automation has its limits. Sorting out angry customer calls is a chaotic business. You cannot hand every messy human problem over to a bot. Derek Gallimore, who runs a Manila advisory firm, points out that mistakes cost money. Would you trust a chatbot to run a support ticket on an $800,000 medical scanner?

People still want human empathy, and Filipino workers are famous for being patient listeners who speak excellent English. Plus, a large chunk of customers are older folks who absolutely refuse to argue with a chatbot.

Instead of replacing staff, AI is making workers faster. This makes them better value for money. Some offshore firms in the Philippines are actually charging higher hourly rates because their teams fix problems much faster than before.

Are workers doing different jobs now?

Yes, they are. AI is pushing Filipino workers into fresh, complex roles. Many now spend their shifts training AI models or babysitting rogue bot agents. American hospitals are handing tricky tasks, like checking insurance rules and filling medical records, to offshore teams armed with smart tech.

Because AI acts as a great leveller, workers can learn difficult concepts quickly. This means high-level jobs in accounting and engineering are moving abroad. It remains much cheaper than hiring a team in Europe or America.

Will the good luck run out?

Cracks are starting to show. While the money looks good today, the industry might stop creating as many jobs tomorrow. Basic roles, such a simple data entry or answering basic questions, are quietly fading away. The new jobs in health and finance pay better, but there will likely be fewer of them.

This shift worries the experts. For years, a basic call centre job was a reliable ladder from minimum wage to the middle class, according to David Sudolsky of Boldr (who used to be my boss when I interned there. Hi, David!) If those bottom rungs vanish, beginners have nowhere to start. Union leaders note that while highly skilled workers are doing great, no one is helping the rookies build their skills.

Is the tech making work harder?

For some, absolutely. Even if AI makes the work faster, it can make the shift miserable. Veteran agents say their targets are higher than ever. Worse, AI tools now listen to their calls and rate their performance in real time.

Agents feel constant pressure to be flawless. A robot doesn’t care if you slept badly, feel ill, or had an argument at home. The efficiency is great for the company, but no one really wants a machine for a boss.