No More Pilots, BBVA Deploys AI Across the Bank With OpenAI’s Partnership

BBVA said it has formed a strategic partnership with OpenAI to embed generative artificial intelligence (AI) directly into the bank’s core operations, moving beyond pilot programs and positioning AI as a default organizational layer across the company.

The Spanish banking group said it will deploy ChatGPT Enterprise across its global workforce and work with OpenAI to co-develop AI systems spanning core banking functions, including internal productivity, software development, risk analysis and customer engagement. The partnership formalizes a shift BBVA has been building toward over the past year with OpenAI pilots.

Unlike many banks that continue to test generative AI for specific use cases, BBVA is taking an enterprise-wide approach. BBVA Chair Carlos Torres Vila framed the move as a continuation of the bank’s earlier technology transformations. He said BBVA had been a pioneer in digital and mobile banking and is now entering what he described as the AI era “with even greater ambition.” The alliance with OpenAI, he said, is intended to accelerate the native integration of AI across the organization.

From AI Pilots to Core Infrastructure

BBVA’s announcement reflects a broader shift underway across large enterprises as early generative AI pilots give way to unified platforms designed to operate at scale. As reported by PYMNTS, companies that initially experimented with AI in isolated departments are now consolidating tools into centralized systems that address governance, security and cost control while embedding AI into core workflows.

BBVA’s strategy mirrors moves by other global financial institutions beginning to operationalize AI at scale. PYMNTS recently reported that Citi has deployed an agentic AI platform designed to streamline workflows and coordinate tasks across teams, signaling a shift away from individual productivity tools toward systems that orchestrate work end to end.

In Citi’s case, the focus has been on enabling AI agents to manage multistep processes rather than simply assist employees with discrete tasks. BBVA’s partnership with OpenAI suggests a similar ambition to embed intelligence directly into how workflows through the organization.

Productivity Data Pushes Banks to Scale AI

Measurable gains tied to generative AI adoption are reinforcing the case for enterprise-wide deployment, particularly when the technology is embedded directly into daily workflows rather than offered as an optional add-on. As PYMNTS has reported, employees using generative AI at work say they save more than an hour per day once the tools become part of core processes.

At BBVA, those productivity signals are translating into one of the largest corporate rollouts of generative AI to date. The bank plans to extend ChatGPT Enterprise to more than 120,000 employees globally, following an initial phase that involved 11,000 staff across business lines. During that rollout, ChatGPT Enterprise was used consistently across functions, with 80% of participants accessing the assistant daily and reporting an average time savings of three hours per week on routine tasks.

By deploying ChatGPT Enterprise across its workforce, BBVA is standardizing access to generative AI rather than limiting usage to technical teams or innovation units.