Grab Philippines pilots human-led, consent-driven Driver AI Ambassador Program

Grab is pioneering a new frontier in digital marketing with the pilot of its Driver AI Ambassador Program in the Philippines. The initiative reimagines traditional brand ambassador models by utilizing Artificial Intelligence to scale and iterate content featuring real driver-partners.

By integrating AI as a force multiplier, Grab amplifies authentic driver-partner narratives and brand stories with unprecedented efficiency, allowing the platform to produce a high volume of factual and educational storytelling assets from a single human-led session.

“The Driver AI Ambassador Program is designed to reimagine influence, shifting it from traditional content creators to the people who live the brand every day: our driver-partners. AI is the enabler, but the stories, the voice, and the truth come from them,” said Grab Philippines Head of Integrated Marketing Services and Brand Marketing Jewel Oliveros.

The program is geared at translating real driver-partner narratives into publishable content with fewer constraints around time, cost, and production bandwidth, historically met by traditional content production. Under the pilot, driver-partners provide the core story material, including interviews, recorded voice, photos, and personal anecdotes about safety, family, community, and their livelihood and experience on Grab, which are then adapted into multiple formats such as short-form videos and social assets using AI tools. The content remains grounded in real input provided by participating driver-partners.

One of the program’s pioneer participants, Patrick Pidlawan Duque, a PWD GrabFood delivery-partner, said being featured provides an opportunity to share his story and widen visibility for delivery-partners. “’Yun po kasi kahit paano po makakatulong rin po sa akin. Yung makapagkwento ka sa mga social media,” Duque said. “’Yung magagawa ng pag-onboard po namin dito sa pagiging AI models ng Grab po, kailangan din po namin ma-expose para makilala ng iba. At para makatulong din po sa aming pamilya.” This AI-enabled creator model offers a competitive compensation package, treating driver-partners as ambassadors with industry-standard remuneration. This effectively creates an additional income stream for driver-partners who opt into the program.

The pilot includes robust governance measures meant to address concerns about the ethical application of using generative AI in marketing. Participation is anchored on informed consent, with driver-partners briefed on how their stories, voice, and likenesses may be used. The driver-partner participants also have the guaranteed right to opt out at any stage of the process. The program integrates human oversight into the workflow to preserve creative nuance and prevent misrepresentation. Furthermore, all AI-enabled outputs feature mandatory disclosures to ensure total transparency for viewers.

Aligning with Global and Ethical Standards for AI Application in Communications

The Grab Driver AI Ambassador Program aligns with the Venice Pledge: Responsible AI Guiding Principles for PR and Communications, established by the Global Alliance for Public Relations and Communication Management, which calls for AI practices that are ethical, transparent, and human-centered.

“We made sure we abided by international standards for AI-enabled communications because we want to make sure that we do right by our driver-partner ambassadors,” Oliveros said. “Our goal is to ensure that AI serves solely as an enabling scale tool for human-first, factual stories.”

Ana Pista, a director for the Global Alliance and president of the Public Relations Society of the Philippines (PRSP), said the pilot could serve as a case study for the industry. “As we navigate this technological shift, the commitment to placing human dignity at the center of innovation aligns with our global mission,” Pista said. “This program demonstrates that when we prioritize professional integrity and the sanctity of consent and transparency, technology like AI can elevate human connection.”