OpenAI has secured one of the largest artificial intelligence deployments in the banking industry after expanding its partnership with Spanish banking giant BBVA. The new agreement will bring ChatGPT Enterprise to BBVA’s entire global workforce of 120,000 employees, significantly broadening the bank’s use of AI-powered tools across operations, customer service, software development, and risk management.
The move highlights how major financial institutions are rapidly integrating artificial intelligence into their core business functions as competition intensifies across the banking sector.
BBVA Scales AI Adoption Across Global Operations
According to OpenAI, the multi-year agreement expands ChatGPT Enterprise access from approximately 11,000 BBVA employees currently using the platform to the bank’s full workforce spread across 25 countries.
The rollout represents a tenfold increase in AI adoption within the organization and positions BBVA among the leaders in generative AI implementation within global financial services.
Under the agreement, BBVA plans to integrate OpenAI’s technology into a wide range of business functions, including:
- Customer service operations
- Risk assessment and analysis
- Software development
- Internal productivity workflows
- Employee support systems
- AI-powered customer experiences
The bank will also collaborate directly with OpenAI’s product, research, and engineering teams as it develops new AI-driven solutions for both employees and customers.
Carlos Torres Vila, Chairman of BBVA, described the partnership as a natural evolution of the bank’s digital transformation strategy.
“We were pioneers in the digital and mobile transformation, and we are now entering the AI era with even greater ambition. Our alliance with OpenAI accelerates the native integration of artificial intelligence across the bank to create a smarter, more proactive, and completely personalized banking experience,” he said.
Building on Early AI Success
BBVA’s relationship with OpenAI began in 2024 when the bank initially deployed 3,300 ChatGPT accounts for employees. Following positive results, access was later expanded to 11,000 staff members.
According to OpenAI, the bank has already developed thousands of custom GPTs tailored to specific business needs across departments.
The results have been encouraging. Employees reportedly saved nearly three hours per week on routine tasks, while more than 80% of users engaged with the platform daily.
These early productivity gains played a key role in BBVA’s decision to expand the deployment across its entire workforce.
As part of the broader rollout, employees will gain access to OpenAI’s latest AI models, enterprise-grade privacy controls, and advanced tools that allow teams to create custom AI agents connected directly to BBVA’s internal systems.
The partnership also includes training programs designed to help employees adopt and effectively use AI across different business functions.
OpenAI Deepens Presence in Financial Services
The BBVA agreement marks another major milestone in OpenAI’s growing expansion into the financial services sector.
Just one day before the BBVA announcement, Visa revealed a strategic partnership with OpenAI focused on agentic commerce and AI-powered payment experiences. The initiative aims to enable secure Visa transactions directly within AI-driven shopping environments.
Together, these partnerships demonstrate OpenAI’s increasing influence across banking, payments, and financial technology infrastructure.
Sam Altman, Chief Executive Officer of OpenAI, highlighted BBVA as an example of how large enterprises can rapidly adopt AI technology.
“BBVA is a strong example of how a large financial institution can adopt AI with real ambition and speed,” Altman said.
“With this expansion of our work together, BBVA will embed our AI into the core of their products and operations to enhance the overall banking experience for their customers.”
AI Moves Beyond Internal Productivity
While many companies initially adopted generative AI to improve employee productivity, BBVA is increasingly focusing on customer-facing applications.
One example is Blue, the bank’s AI-powered virtual assistant that helps customers manage accounts, cards, payments, and banking services using natural language conversations.
The latest partnership will allow BBVA to further develop these customer-facing AI capabilities while exploring deeper integrations between ChatGPT and banking products.
The long-term goal is to create more personalized banking experiences capable of anticipating customer needs, simplifying financial management, and improving service efficiency.
As AI technology becomes more sophisticated, financial institutions are increasingly viewing it as a strategic competitive advantage rather than simply a productivity tool.
Enterprise Adoption Continues to Accelerate
The BBVA deal reflects a broader trend of rapid enterprise adoption across industries.
OpenAI recently reported that more than one million business customers now use its products worldwide. Major organizations utilizing OpenAI solutions include:
- Deutsche Telekom
- Virgin Atlantic
- Accenture
- BBVA
- Various financial institutions and enterprise organizations
The company continues to expand its commercial business while introducing new enterprise features focused on security, compliance, customization, and workflow automation.
OpenAI’s Growth Story Gains Momentum
The banking sector’s growing embrace of OpenAI technology comes as the company continues to attract significant investor attention.
Recent reports suggest OpenAI has confidentially filed for a potential U.S. initial public offering and could eventually pursue a valuation approaching $1 trillion.
While those reports remain unconfirmed, growing enterprise adoption across sectors such as banking, payments, telecommunications, consulting, and aviation highlights the scale of OpenAI’s commercial expansion.
The BBVA partnership further strengthens OpenAI’s position as one of the leading providers of enterprise artificial intelligence solutions globally.
Final Thoughts
BBVA’s decision to extend ChatGPT Enterprise to all 120,000 employees represents one of the largest AI deployments ever undertaken by a global bank.
The agreement underscores how artificial intelligence is moving beyond experimental projects and becoming a core part of banking operations, customer engagement, and decision-making processes.
As financial institutions race to improve efficiency, personalize services, and remain competitive in an increasingly digital economy, partnerships like the one between OpenAI and BBVA may offer a glimpse into the future of AI-powered banking.
For OpenAI, the deal marks another significant step in its transformation from an AI research company into a critical technology partner for some of the world’s largest enterprises.
