Many popular AI tools require a credit card and a monthly subscription. Smart Communications is testing a different model: AI you pay for from your mobile account, starting at P49 a week.
Smart Communications, the wireless arm of PLDT Inc., launched AI.Smart with Amihan Global Strategies Inc. and Avtica at a press briefing in Makati City on Tuesday, Sept. 22. The service is powered by Avtica and runs on Amazon Web Services (AWS).
Here’s what we know.
What Is AI.Smart?
AI.Smart is a full AI workspace for Smart and TNT subscribers. It gives users access to several AI models on one platform, including Amazon Nova, Anthropic’s Claude, Google Gemini, OpenAI and Thinking Machines.
Users can work in English, Filipino or Taglish. The platform can answer questions about uploaded files, draft and summarize documents, build spreadsheets, generate presentations and images, and analyze data.
How Much Does It Cost?
AI.Smart offers four credit packs:
- P49, valid for seven days
- P99, valid for 14 days
- P149 (Pro), valid for 30 days
- P499 (Max), valid for 30 days
The Pro and Max tiers can be shared with a team or family. Packs are charged to the subscriber’s Smart or TNT mobile account.
Why “Sachet” AI?
Lloyd Manaloto, Smart’s first vice president and head of Strategy and Corporate Brand, said most AI tools cost around $20 a month and require a credit card, while most Filipinos use prepaid mobile services and many have never held a credit card.
AI.Smart is designed to be bought “like a sachet.”
“At P49 for a week, a student can get help with exam preparation or a research paper, a freelancer can turn client notes into a polished proposal, and a family can plan a trip, a budget, or a celebration,” Manaloto said, according to GMA News.
Avtica CEO Winston Damarillo said: “This is how AI reaches everyone: not by waiting for prices to fall, but by building locally, pricing locally, and charging to the account people already have.”
Where Does Your Data Go?
AI.Smart runs in a dedicated Amazon Web Services (AWS) landing zone provisioned for Smart, with inference served through Amazon Bedrock.
Manaloto described it as an assistant that “understands Filipino” and “respects your privacy.”
Smart and its partners say subscriber data is not retained by model providers, is encrypted in transit and at rest, and is handled in line with the Philippine Data Privacy Act.
Users should still check AI.Smart’s terms and privacy policies before uploading sensitive files.
It’s Also a Business Bet
Smart sees AI.Smart as a new revenue stream.
Manaloto said the platform already has paying users after its soft launch, although Smart has not set a public revenue or subscriber target.
“Of course, it will be a meaningful revenue,” he said, calling the launch only “step one.”
Damarillo said the partners eventually want to bring the same model to other emerging markets, including countries in Southeast Asia, Latin America, Africa and South Asia.
How to Get It
AI.Smart is available to Smart and TNT subscribers through AI.Smart and the LiveSmart app. The service launched on Sept. 18, 2026.
