• True Corp is aiming to play a key role in Thailand’s adoption of AI
• It is already using AI in various areas of its operations  
• Now it has formed an AI Council to support its AI governance efforts

Thailand’s mobile market leader, True Corp, has outlined its plan to become an “AI-first telco-tech company” that can help drive AI adoption at scale across the South-east Asian country, with the operator’s head of AI recently announcing the formation of an AI Council that will play a key role in supporting its AI governance efforts. 

True, which ended 2025 with 47.5 million mobile customers (just ahead of Thailand’s other main operator AIS that had 46.7 million), has been very vocal about its AI efforts in recent weeks: It recently unveiled its three-year strategic roadmap, dubbed ‘4 Big Moves’, which has AI at its core.  

The new strategy focuses on: Elevating end-to-end customer experience across a seamless digital ecosystem; accelerating growth across consumer and enterprise segments; embedding AI and data into operations and innovation through hyper-personalised services; and developing future-ready talent while helping to build Thailand’s “intelligent digital infrastructure” and “advancing the country’s digital economy”.

Introducing the strategy, Sigve Brekke, group CEO of True Corp, stated last month: “We are moving beyond the traditional telco-centric, focused primarily on subscriber growth and entering a new phase of transformation as an AI-first organisation while remaining firmly focused on customer centricity. With AI, True will embed intelligence across networks, services and digital platforms. This represents a complete reset of operations, moving toward touch-free, predictive and increasingly autonomous operations that enhance both performance and customer experience. Our three-year ‘Big Moves’ strategy is built on systemic organisational transformation and operational excellence, connecting customer experience, technology and people. It will shape how True serves customers, partners and the wider Thai digital economy.”

The strategy is based on three pillars: AI for All – “expanding AI access and skills across employees, customers and society”; AI as a growth engine – “developing new AI-driven products and enhancing customer experience”; and AI-powered operations – “improving efficiency and automation across business functions”.

The telco says it has already deployed AI across several key areas, including: Intelligent network operations, where its Genie autonomous operations platform helps to improve network efficiency, enhances service quality, reduces resolution time from hours to minutes, and reduces energy costs; customer service, with the introduction of an AI-powered virtual assistant called MARI, which “learns customer behaviour in real time to deliver relevant offers at the right moment while providing instant support”; and service focus, with “hyper-personalisation engines that analyse data to deliver highly relevant offers and services”. 

In addition, the operator claims to be very focused on being a leader in “Responsible AI… guided by transparency, ethics, privacy and security”. 

Brekke noted: “True is not only adopting AI internally. We are working to upskill 12 million Thai citizens through a comprehensive AI literacy programme, build an AI-enabled platform for enterprises, and strengthen AI infrastructure together with partners across the ecosystem. As AI transforms every industry, trust will define the winners. That is why True introduces a ‘Responsible AI’ policy, making us one of the first companies in South-east Asia to establish clear standards for how AI is used by our employees and in serving our customers.”

Meanwhile, True’s chief data and AI officer, Joao Pedro Azevedo Oliveira, told a recent AI seminar that “the world is entering a new era where AI is no longer an optional technology but a core driver of economic growth, productivity and global competitiveness, comparable to the impact of electricity and the internet.

AI will not only enhance businesses but redefine how economies grow. For Thailand, the key question is not whether to adopt AI but how quickly it can scale across all sectors of society.”

He added: “Effective AI adoption requires infrastructure that can reach people at scale, whether networks, data or customer base, and this is where telecom operators like True are uniquely positioned.” 

Now the operator has taken that AI-focused approach even further by announcing the formation of an AI Council that will serve as “the core mechanism to support sustainable growth as the digital economy evolves into an AI-driven economy”. 

The AI Council comprises cross-functional experts in technology, risk, legal and compliance, and oversees four key areas that cover the entire lifecycle from development to deployment: AI Risk Oversight; AI Lifecycle Governance; Third-Party AI Oversight; and AI Reporting and Escalation.

According to True, this approach “ensures consistent AI standards across the organisation, without slowing innovation, while building stakeholder trust in transparency, accountability and regulatory readiness at both national and global levels.

Oliveira noted that True’s approach to AI governance “ensures clarity of roles, regulatory readiness and oversight across all AI use cases. For True, Responsible AI is not optional but the foundation for sustainable growth.” 

- Ray Le Maistre, Editorial Director, TelecomTV