PETALING JAYA, 20 AUGUST 2026 – The AI-powered digital workforce is designed to help businesses automate repetitive tasks, connect systems and orchestrate end-to-end processes without requiring large technology teams.
CelcomDigi Berhad has commercialised Sophia AI, an AI-powered digital workforce designed to help Malaysian enterprises and small and medium enterprises (SMEs) move beyond using artificial intelligence as an assistant towards agentic AI solutions that can execute tasks, connect systems and orchestrate business processes.
The launch in Petaling Jaya on 20 August comes as Malaysia steps up efforts to broaden access to AI and build an AI-ready economy.
While agentic AI has been identified as one of the capabilities to be developed under Malaysia’s national AI agenda, the Ministry of Finance’s Economic Outlook 2026 notes that AI adoption among SMEs remains uneven. Uncertainty over return on investment and limited access to AI platforms tailored to SME requirements remain among the key barriers to adoption.
With Sophia AI, CelcomDigi aims to help SMEs accelerate their digital transformation without requiring them to build large technology teams or overhaul their existing operations.
From AI assistants to AI-powered operations
Sophia AI is designed to move businesses beyond using AI simply to support individual tasks. Instead, the platform enables AI agents to execute processes, connect different systems and coordinate workflows.
T. Kugan, CelcomDigi’s Chief Enterprise Business Officer, said the company had seen the potential of agentic AI first-hand after deploying more than 400 automations across its own operations.
“We have seen first-hand how agentic AI can orchestrate processes and create real business value. In building a strong value proposition for Sophia AI, we deployed more than 400 automations across our operations to generate cost efficiencies and deliver better customer experience. These strategic efforts have demonstrated how Sophia AI can drive good business outcomes,” he said.
Kugan said CelcomDigi’s focus is now on helping other organisations, particularly SMEs, achieve similar benefits.
“With our agentic AI solution, we can successfully eliminate repetitive administrative tasks while empowering employees to devote time on higher-value work where human judgement, creativity, problem-solving, and meaningful customer engagement makes the greatest difference,” he said.
Agentic AI can transform business processes
Sophia AI is designed to support businesses across multiple industries, with applications ranging from finance and supply chain management to customer service and administration.
For the retail and distribution sector, Sophia AI can manage the invoice-to-payment process from end to end.
Rather than employees manually checking and updating multiple systems, the AI can read and validate invoices, flag exceptions, route issues to the appropriate person, trigger approvals and update systems automatically.
For businesses managing large numbers of suppliers, stores and transactions, this can help reduce errors while improving visibility across financial and supply chain operations.
Similar agentic AI applications can be deployed across other industries, including:
- Manufacturing: Automating workflows across procurement, production, warehouse and finance, including supplier documents, maintenance requests, inventory and delivery records.
- Healthcare: Streamlining appointments, claims, referrals, procurement and billing.
- Public sector: Simplifying applications, document checks, case management, citizen enquiries and reporting.
Customised AI adoption for SMEs
A key feature of Sophia AI is its customisation, allowing the intelligent architecture to be tailored to the needs, size and complexity of different businesses.
This allows SMEs to begin with the processes that matter most to their operations and deploy agentic AI at a scale that fits their requirements and budgets.
CelcomDigi will also support businesses throughout the adoption process, from identifying high-value opportunities and integrating AI with existing systems to deploying AI agents and measuring business outcomes.
The approach provides SMEs with a practical pathway to adopt agentic AI without having to build extensive AI capabilities from scratch.
Building on CelcomDigi’s wider technology ecosystem
Sophia AI is supported by CelcomDigi’s broader enterprise technology capabilities, spanning connectivity, 5G, cloud, data, cybersecurity, Internet of Things (IoT), automation and AI.
The company sees this wider ecosystem as an important foundation as businesses move towards increasingly AI-powered operations.
Rather than relying on individual AI tools, CelcomDigi expects the next phase of adoption to involve digital agents working alongside employees and continuously improving how businesses operate.
For Malaysian SMEs, this shift could provide opportunities to automate repetitive processes, improve operational efficiency and allow employees to focus on areas where human judgement, creativity, problem-solving and customer engagement remain essential.
Supporting Malaysia’s AI-ready economy
The commercialisation of Sophia AI comes as Malaysia works to expand AI adoption across its business ecosystem.
By making agentic AI more accessible to SMEs, CelcomDigi aims to address some of the barriers that have traditionally prevented smaller businesses from investing in advanced AI capabilities.
The company’s approach combines customised AI solutions with existing enterprise technology infrastructure, giving businesses a pathway to adopt and scale AI according to their operational needs.
As agentic AI develops, CelcomDigi believes the opportunity for Malaysian businesses will increasingly lie not just in using AI tools, but in embedding intelligent digital agents into everyday business operations.
