From Pilot to Practice: How BBVA Is Scaling AI Across the Organization

Why It Matters

BBVA’s enterprise‑wide AI rollout demonstrates how a major bank can turn generative AI into a measurable productivity engine, setting a benchmark for the financial industry’s digital transformation and cost‑efficiency goals.

Summary

BBVA is rapidly scaling artificial intelligence across its global workforce, leveraging OpenAI’s ChatGPT as a core productivity tool. After an initial pilot with 3,000 employees, the bank expanded usage to 11,000 staff in multiple countries, eventually deploying more than 20,000 AI‑driven “GPS” assistants, of which 4,000 see daily activity. The rollout is framed as a “safe place” for learning, with a focus on hands‑on training for senior leadership, including 250 leaders, the CEO, and the chairman.

The bank reports striking efficiency gains: an 83% weekly recurrence rate in AI usage, an average time‑saving of three hours per employee, and efficiency improvements of up to 80% in certain processes. Hundreds of thousands of employees now rely on the tools for routine tasks, and the executive committee has become a heavy‑user cohort, actively brainstorming new applications during sessions with their teams.

Key examples highlighted include the deployment of over 20,000 AI “GPS” assistants, with 4,000 in daily use, and a structured training program that immerses senior leaders in real‑world ChatGPT workflows. Executives are described as “jumping into a session with the teams full of ideas,” underscoring a cultural shift toward AI‑first thinking at the highest levels of governance.

The initiative signals BBVA’s commitment to embedding generative AI into its operational DNA, aiming to boost productivity, reduce costs, and maintain competitive advantage in a rapidly digitizing banking sector. By institutionalizing AI literacy among top management and scaling tools across the workforce, BBVA positions itself to deliver faster, more efficient services to its millions of global customers.

Original Description

Long recognized as one of the world’s most innovative financial institutions, BBVA is applying AI at global scale.

We sat down with Antonio Bravo, Global Head of Data & AI and Elena Alfaro, Head of Global AI Adoption, to hear how the bank is scaling AI adoption across teams and business units. Get the full story at https://openai.com/index/bbva-2025/