WHAT IS A REAL VIRTUAL ASSISTANT?

 WHAT IS A REAL VIRTUAL ASSISTANT?

That might sound like an oxymoron, but it isn’t. A “real” virtual assistant—despite the strange-sounding phrase—is, in fact, a real person. A breathing, thinking human being. The only thing “virtual” about him or her is the work arrangement: you don’t see them in your office, they’re not seated in the next cubicle, and you probably wouldn’t even know whether they’re in Makati, Malaysia, or Minnesota.

I am writing about this because of a recent—and very frustrating—experience with SkyCable. All I wanted was to disconnect my account. A simple request. But what should have taken five minutes took several days because I couldn’t reach a single human being. Everything was automated. Everything was menu-driven. And everything was rigid. No option matched my concern. No supervisor was available. No escalation path existed.

And this is where the problem begins: when companies rely entirely on bots.

Automation is useful—until it becomes a wall instead of a doorway.

I am not against artificial intelligence or automated chat systems. In fact, they make our lives easier in many ways. But the key word here is assist. Machines should assist humans, not replace them entirely, especially in customer service where empathy, judgment, and flexibility still matter.

This is where real virtual assistants come in.

A real VA is a remote professional—skilled, trained, and capable—who handles administrative, technical, creative, or customer-support work from anywhere in the world. The Philippines is already known globally for this workforce. According to industry reports, Filipino VAs remain among the most in-demand because of our hospitality, English proficiency, and problem-solving skills.

So why are some companies abandoning this advantage?

Why not offer the world a hybrid model: intelligent robots PLUS bright, friendly, adaptable Filipino VAs?

It’s the best of both worlds.

• Bots handle repetitive tasks.
  
  

• Humans handle exceptions, emotions, and judgment calls.
  
  

This creates better customer experience and sustains employment in our country.

Look at global trends: by 2028, the virtual assistant industry—human plus AI—is projected to reach over US$50 billion, according to Grand View Research. AI is growing fast, but so is demand for remote human talent because businesses still need real conversations, nuanced decisions, and tasks robots cannot yet master.

The BPO sector, one of our economic pillars, will only stay competitive if it evolves. Pure automation makes us replaceable. But a hybrid human-AI model makes us indispensable.

Customer frustration like mine should be a warning sign. When a customer cannot disconnect a cable account because no human can be found, something is wrong—not with technology but with the decision to remove people from the loop.

Virtual assistants—real ones—keep the loop human.

This raises more questions:

• Are companies trying to cut costs at the expense of service quality?
  
  

• Are they miscalculating the value of human intervention?
  
  

• Are our BPO policies encouraging a race to automation rather than a race to excellence?
  
  

My suggestion is simple:
Let AI do what it does best, and let Filipinos do what we do best.
We are good at understanding people. We are good at solving problems that aren’t in the script. We are good at making customers feel heard.

In this age of automation, the most powerful competitive advantage may still be the one thing machines cannot imitate: being human.

RAMON IKE V. SENERES

www.facebook.com/ike.seneres iseneres@yahoo.com senseneres.blogspot.com 09088877282/08-07-2026