BBVA and OpenAI expand AI to 120,000 employees | Keryc
BBVA and OpenAI announce a strategic expansion that puts artificial intelligence at the center of the bank. In a multi-year program, the financial institution will deploy ChatGPT Enterprise to the group's 120,000 employees, multiplying its current rollout by 10 and aiming to transform both the customer experience and internal work.
What the alliance announces
The collaboration includes:
Deployment of ChatGPT Enterprise to BBVA's 120,000 employees across 25 countries.
Integration of security and privacy controls, access to OpenAI's latest models, and tools to build internal agents connected to the bank's systems.
Specialized training programs and a structured adoption model to integrate these tools consistently and safely.
Surprised by the scale? Does that make you pause? It's one of the largest generative AI implementations in financial services, and it comes after almost two years of testing and gradual rollouts.
How they got here and what results they've seen
BBVA started working with OpenAI in May 2024 with 3,300 ChatGPT accounts. After the initial phase, they expanded to 11,000 employees and built thousands of custom GPTs for collaboration and daily tasks.
Numbers tell a clear story: people saved nearly three hours per week on routine tasks, and over 80% used the tools daily. Those gains explain why the bank is now moving to a massive rollout.
Impact for employees and customers
What will this mean day to day? Here are some tangible areas:
Customer service: virtual assistants and more personalized experiences, like the Blue assistant that already helps with cards and accounts using natural language.
Commercial banking support: tools that help bankers advise customers more effectively.
Operations and risk: faster analysis and automation of control processes.
Software development and internal productivity: redesigning workflows so repetitive tasks take less time.
The goal isn't to replace people but to amplify their work and anticipate customer needs with more proactive interactions. Think of it like giving staff a smart teammate that handles the routine so you can focus on the human part.
Security, training and governance
BBVA highlights that the expansion includes security and privacy controls and a direct technical collaboration with OpenAI's product, research and technical success teams.
There will also be specialized training for employees and a structured adoption model. Why? In a regulated sector like banking, trust, compliance and data protection are essential to scale without risk.
"We are pioneers in digital transformation and now enter the AI era with even greater ambition," said Carlos Torres Vila, BBVA's chairman.
Why this matters beyond BBVA
Because it shows how large companies move from experimentation to embedding AI at the core of their business. If a bank operating in 25 countries and handling sensitive information decides to bet at scale, that sets a precedent for other regulated industries.
Also, the alliance reinforces the idea of enterprise platforms that speed up adoption: OpenAI already works with over a million enterprise customers, including Deutsche Telekom, Virgin Atlantic and Accenture.
Final reflection
This expansion is a reminder that AI has stopped being an experiment and has become work infrastructure. It's not just about automation, but about rethinking how you serve people, how decisions are made, and how work is organized. Are you ready to see how AI changes processes in your bank or company?
