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.<\/p>\n
Under the partnership, both organisations will develop AI-driven solutions for customer service, internal operations, and employee productivity.<\/p>\n
The agreement follows two years of collaboration between BBVA and OpenAI, and involves joint investments and shared objectives.<\/p>\n
OpenAI will support BBVA\u2019s AI strategy to improve customer experiences and optimise the bank\u2019s operations.<\/p>\n
Also, the partnership allows BBVA to access OpenAI\u2019s latest AI models and expertise, and work closely with its engineering, research, and development teams.<\/p>\n
BBVA chairman Carlos Torres Vila said: \u201cWe were pioneers in the digital and mobile transformation, and we are now entering the AI era with even greater ambition.<\/p>\n
\u201cOur 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.\u201d<\/p>\n
The collaboration will focus on creating an intelligent conversational assistant designed to assist customers with their daily financial activities.<\/p>\n
OpenAI and BBVA plan to set a new standard for customer engagement and develop additional tools to help relationship managers provide personalised support.<\/p>\n
They will develop systems to streamline risk analysis and transform operational processes, such as software development and routine employee tasks.<\/p>\n
Also, a digital \u201calter ego\u201d will be created, which can learn from employees\u2019 work habits, remember ongoing projects, and carry out tasks with oversight.<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
BBVA is also working on integrating its products and services directly into ChatGPT, allowing users to interact with the bank through OpenAI\u2019s platform.<\/p>\n
The Spanish bank has already demonstrated a ChatGPT-integrated app for its digital banks in Italy and Germany.<\/p>\n
The agreement aims to establish a new industry benchmark for AI-driven transformation in financial services, BBVA stated.<\/p>\n
OpenAI CEO Sam Altman said: \u201cBBVA is a strong example of how a large financial institution can adopt artificial intelligence with real ambition and speed.<\/p>\n
\u201cWith 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.\u201d<\/p>\n
In June this year, BBVA launched its fully digital bank<\/a> in Germany, marking its second such offering in Europe.<\/p>\n