BBVA (Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria), one of the most progressive financial institutions in the world, enters into a strategic alliance with OpenAI. This is a crucial development, at the convergence of artificial intelligence and financial services. The expanded partnership, announced in late 2025, goes well beyond a typical vendor relationship; it is part of a multi-year big integrated AI transformation programme aimed at embedding artificial intelligence in BBVA’s operations, customer experience and long-term transformation strategy, at the foundational level too.
In this comprehensive and current article, we look at the background of the collaboration, some of the key initiatives, real-life impact, strategic benefits, challenges and the implications for the future of AI in banking.
Image Credit: BBVA
What’s Behind the BBVA–OpenAI Collaboration?
BBVA and OpenAI’s alliance builds on nearly two years of iterative work together. Starting with early deployments of ChatGPT Enterprise for thousands of BBVA users, the relationship has matured into a strategic, multi-year program designed to transform how the bank operates and interacts with customers through AI.
Dual Strategic Goals
The collaboration has two major thrusts:
- Internal Transformation: Empower BBVA’s 120,000+ employees with AI tools that streamline workflows, improve productivity, and unlock new ways of working.
- Customer-Centric Innovation: Integrate AI into customer interactions and services to enhance personalization, engagement, and accessibility.
The scope is broad: from internal risk analysis and software development to conversational virtual assistants that interface directly with customers.
What Has BBVA Achieved With AI So Far?
BBVA’s AI initiative predates the deep collaboration, but the partnership with OpenAI has accelerated results:
Large-Scale Enterprise AI Deployment
BBVA’s relationship with AI and OpenAI began in May 2024 when BBVA enjoyed its first deployment of ChatGPT Enterprise to 3,300 users. This pilot demonstrated how productivity has improved, thereby providing some incentives to expand in following efforts – first to 11 000 licenses and later to all 120 000 employees.
- A reported 80% of users engage with the assistant daily, indicating meaningful adoption.
- Employees using ChatGPT routinely save about three hours per week on repetitive tasks like report drafting, summarization, and data analysis.
This broad rollout makes BBVA one of the largest enterprise deployments of generative AI in financial services globally, setting a benchmark in the banking sector.
Custom GPTs and Internal Innovation
Across the organization, employees have created thousands of custom GPTs — tailored AI assistants designed for specific tasks, regions, or functions. These tools range from document summarization and translation bots to complex workflow assistants that integrate with internal data systems.
The bank’s “GPT Store,” a centralized internal repository of AI tools, democratizes access and encourages reuse of solutions across departments, fostering collaboration and innovation.
Cultural and Organizational Adoption
BBVA has prioritized building governance, trust, and AI fluency. Leadership training, cross-department collaboration, and structured learning programs ensure that AI adoption is secure, responsible, and aligned with BBVA’s values.
How BBVA Is Using OpenAI Technologies
The expanded alliance with OpenAI spans multiple strategic domains:
Empowering Employees with ChatGPT Enterprise
The bank’s workforce now has secure access to ChatGPT Enterprise with strict privacy and security controls. This empowers employees to:
- Automate routine tasks
- Generate insights and summaries
- Draft and refine communications
- Build internal tools using natural language interfaces
This large-scale AI deployment significantly accelerates productivity and frees human talent for higher-value work.
Reimagining Customer Interactions
BBVA is harnessing AI to create smarter, more proactive customer experiences:
- Virtual assistants like “Blue” — built on OpenAI models — help customers manage cards, accounts, and queries using natural language.
- Integration plans are underway to enable customers to interact with BBVA services directly through ChatGPT interfaces.
This approach blurs the line between traditional digital banking and conversational AI services, enabling more intuitive and accessible customer journeys.
AI-Driven Risk and Operational Systems
Beyond productivity and engagement, BBVA and OpenAI are collaborating on internal systems that enhance critical business functions:
- Risk analysis and compliance: AI models help streamline regulatory review, risk scoring, and pattern detection.
- Software development support: AI accelerates code generation, testing, and documentation, reducing time spent on technical tasks.
- Personalized digital assistants: Internal “digital alter egos” can aid employees by remembering preferences, workflows, and ongoing tasks — effectively acting as AI-assisted work companions.
These capabilities strengthen BBVA’s operational resilience and competitive edge.
Strategic Importance: Why This Collaboration Matters
The BBVA–OpenAI alliance is significant for several reasons:
AI as Core Business Infrastructure
In contrast to many other organizations considering artificial intelligence as an experiment, an out there technology, BBVA treats AI as a strategic mission-critical capability. This evolution of pilot initiatives to enterprise-wide implementation is indicative of a larger trend in financial services towards AI native operations.
Scaling Responsibly in Regulated Environments
Banks operate under strict regulatory, legal, and privacy requirements. BBVA’s model shows how generative AI can be implemented at scale without compromising compliance or security — a major case study for other institutions in similar contexts.
Innovation in Customer Experience
By embedding AI into customer channels and internal workflows, BBVA is redefining what proactive, personalized banking looks like — enhancing service quality, speeding responses, and aligning services with modern expectations.
Global AI Leadership
BBVA’s worldwide presence (carrying out its activities in Europe, Latin America, the U.S., and Turkey) implies that its AI strategy will have an effect on the whole world, i.e. it will affect millions of customers and thousands of staff members. Utilizing OpenAI’s cutting-edge models gives BBVA the assurance that it will always be at the cutting edge of AI-based financial innovations.
Real-World Results & Business Impact
Productivity Gains
BBVA employees report substantial efficiency improvements:
- ~3 hours saved per week per employee on routine tasks.
- 83% weekly active usage across teams.
- Efficiency improvements of up to 80%+ in workflow testing scenarios.
These numbers are remarkable, especially in an industry where time savings translate directly into cost reductions and faster customer service.
Innovation at Scale
Within months of large-scale deployment, BBVA teams have created tens of thousands of custom GPTs, demonstrating both internal creativity and the adaptability of generative AI for diverse use cases — from constructive assistants to highly specialized departmental tools.
Enhanced Customer Engagement
AI-driven systems like Blue and future ChatGPT interfaces enhance responsiveness and provide customers with interactive, conversational access to banking services — reducing friction and enhancing customer satisfaction.
Challenges & Considerations
While the partnership is transformative, several key considerations remain:
Security & Compliance
Maintaining robust data governance, privacy protections, and regulatory compliance is paramount in banking. BBVA’s structured approach — involving legal, security, and compliance functions from the outset — is critical to safe AI expansion.
Human-Machine Balance
AI enhances human workers’ productivity, but still the necessity of human judgment cannot be avoided, particularly in delicate and complex financial matters. BBVA’s adoption points to human supervision and assuring settings for trials, thus avoiding unjust dependence on AI.
Scaling & Change Management
Transforming an established global bank requires cultural change, employee training, and governance frameworks that reinforce safe and productive use of AI — a complex and ongoing endeavor.
Future Outlook: What Comes Next?
The BBVA–OpenAI collaboration is not a static project but an evolving program. Future developments are likely to include:
- Multimodal banking experiences incorporating voice, text, and visual AI interactions.
- Further integration of AI into customer products and digital services across markets.
- AI-assisted workflows that automate entire banking operations including compliance checks, loan processing, and fraud detection.
- Continuous training and model optimization tailored to banking contexts and languages.
Taken together, these advancements could position BBVA as a blueprint for AI-native financial institutions worldwide.
FAQ
What is the BBVA–OpenAI collaboration?
BBVA and OpenAI have teamed up for several years to bring advanced AI into BBVA’s global banking. The goal is to give customers better experiences, help employees work smarter, and transform how banking services are delivered using generative AI.
How many BBVA employees use AI tools?
BBVA has expanded ChatGPT Enterprise access to its 120,000+ employees worldwide, one of the largest corporate deployments in financial services.
What business impact has AI had at BBVA?
AI tools have saved employees about three hours per week on routine tasks, increased workflow efficiency by up to 80% in tests, and led to creation of thousands of customized AI assistants.
What customer-facing AI tools does BBVA use?
BBVA uses AI models to power conversational virtual assistants like Blue, and is exploring deeper integration with ChatGPT for direct customer interaction.
What challenges does BBVA face with AI?
Key challenges include security, compliance, governance, change management, and ensuring that AI augments rather than replaces critical human decision-making.
How does the collaboration benefit customers?
Customers gain more personalized, responsive, and conversational banking experiences, with AI-powered tools that make managing accounts, services, and queries more intuitive.
Conclusion
The enhanced BBVA and OpenAI collaboration is a landmark in the financial sector’s adoption of generative AI. It provides a case study of how such a large regulated institution can make a significant digital transition from experimentation to the scaling of AI technologies throughout its global workforce, bringing conversational intelligence into its customer channels, and achieving new levels of operational efficiency.
By joining forces with the leading AI model and enterprise tools of OpenAI and BBVA’s commitment to innovation, the alliance is redefining the future of banking – making it more intelligent, personal and productive. As the collaboration continues to evolve, it remains a beacon of blueprint for AI transformation in the financial services space and beyond, with insights for businesses, developers, and policymakers navigating the age of AI.