Taytay: The Department of Information and Communications Technology is urging micro, small and medium enterprise owners to level up their digital skills and boost their businesses by maximizing free artificial intelligence tools, an official said Thursday. Undersecretary Faye Condez-De Guzman, speaking in a press conference in the Ilocos Region, said AI tools can save time, cut operational costs and improve business operations.

According to Philippines News Agency, AI is now being adopted across the supply chain for product design, market research, marketing, documentation, and logistics. In response to President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr.'s directive to make AI a tool for progress, DICT has been conducting regional campaigns to promote AI for inclusive growth, particularly among MSMEs. The agency also announced an AI summit to be held in Clark, Pampanga this year, to be attended by digital ministers from ASEAN countries and private partners to showcase AI's potential in boosting operations and market competitiveness.

In Ilocos Norte, Elma Gabriel, head of the provincial government's MSME department, said an upcoming training on digital marketing and e-payments for interested MSMEs is targeted for the second quarter of this year. "We are targeting the second quarter of this year to implement the training and we are inviting interested MSMEs to grab this opportunity for them," Gabriel said. She said her office is partnering with the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas for the e-payment training, and with DICT and other agencies for digital marketing.