Spanish lender Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria (BBVA) has announced a strategic partnership with US-based artificial intelligence (AI) organisation OpenAI to advance the application of AI in the banking sector.
Under the partnership, both organisations will develop AI-driven solutions for customer service, internal operations, and employee productivity.
Go deeper with GlobalData
Access deeper industry intelligence
Experience unmatched clarity with a single platform that combines unique data, AI, and human expertise.
The agreement follows two years of collaboration between BBVA and OpenAI, and involves joint investments and shared objectives.
OpenAI will support BBVA’s AI strategy to improve customer experiences and optimise the bank’s operations.
Also, the partnership allows BBVA to access OpenAI’s latest AI models and expertise, and work closely with its engineering, research, and development teams.
BBVA chairman Carlos Torres Vila said: “We were pioneers in the digital and mobile transformation, and we are now entering the AI era with even greater ambition.
US Tariffs are shifting - will you react or anticipate?
Don’t let policy changes catch you off guard. Stay proactive with real-time data and expert analysis.
By GlobalData“Our alliance with OpenAI accelerates the native integration of artificial intelligence across the bank to create a smarter, more proactive, and completely personalised banking experience, anticipating the needs of every client.”
The collaboration will focus on creating an intelligent conversational assistant designed to assist customers with their daily financial activities.
OpenAI and BBVA plan to set a new standard for customer engagement and develop additional tools to help relationship managers provide personalised support.
They will develop systems to streamline risk analysis and transform operational processes, such as software development and routine employee tasks.
Also, a digital “alter ego” will be created, which can learn from employees’ work habits, remember ongoing projects, and carry out tasks with oversight.
BBVA will extend the use of ChatGPT Enterprise to its workforce of more than 120,000 employees, following an initial phase involving 11,000 staff.
In the initial phase, the technology showed consistent usage, with 80% of participants accessing the assistant daily and reporting an average weekly time saving of three hours on routine activities.
BBVA is also working on integrating its products and services directly into ChatGPT, allowing users to interact with the bank through OpenAI’s platform.
The Spanish bank has already demonstrated a ChatGPT-integrated app for its digital banks in Italy and Germany.
The agreement aims to establish a new industry benchmark for AI-driven transformation in financial services, BBVA stated.
OpenAI CEO Sam Altman said: “BBVA is a strong example of how a large financial institution can adopt artificial intelligence with real ambition and speed.
“With the expansion of our work together, BBVA will embed our AI at the core of its products and operations to enhance the overall banking experience for their customers.”
In June this year, BBVA launched its fully digital bank in Germany, marking its second such offering in Europe.
