BBVA Leads Banking Sector in Early Integration of OpenAI’s GPT-5 to Transform Operations

BBVA Leads Banking Sector in Early Integration of OpenAI’s GPT-5 to Transform Operations

(IN BRIEF) BBVA has become one of the first banks in the world to adopt OpenAI’s GPT-5, a next-generation language model offering major advances in reasoning, contextual understanding, and technical problem-solving. Highlighted by OpenAI during the model’s global launch, BBVA has used GPT-5 to complete strategic projects in hours instead of weeks, with strong performance in coding and Spanish language tasks. Since beginning its partnership with OpenAI in May 2024, BBVA has deployed 11,000 licenses, with more than 80% used daily and delivering an average of three hours’ weekly time savings per user. The initiative reflects BBVA’s drive to apply generative AI responsibly to improve efficiency and foster innovation.

(PRESS RELEASE) BILBAO, 11-Aug-2025 — /EuropaWire/ — BBVA has been spotlighted by OpenAI as one of the first financial institutions worldwide to integrate its new GPT-5 language model into core operations. The bank has been running pilot programs with the technology to handle strategic, high-value tasks, reflecting its commitment to using generative AI to accelerate processes, boost productivity, and encourage innovation across teams.

OpenAI acknowledged BBVA’s leadership during the global launch of GPT-5, with Olivier Godement, Global Head of Platform, citing how the bank has reduced timelines for complex projects from several weeks to mere hours. The new model builds on and surpasses earlier OpenAI advancements, such as 4o, the reasoning series, agents, and advanced mathematical tools. GPT-5 delivers significant gains in reasoning depth, contextual understanding, structured thinking, problem-solving, accuracy, and processing speed.

Elena Alfaro, BBVA’s Global Head of AI Adoption, described the technology as a game changer: “GPT-5 represents a major step forward, offering deeper and more valuable responses while moving us closer to multi-step agent automation. It is proving especially powerful in coding, managing technical operations, and performing in Spanish—a breakthrough in a field still dominated by English-trained systems.”

BBVA began working with OpenAI in May 2024, deploying 11,000 licenses across its global operations. The bank reports that over 80% of these are used daily, with employees saving nearly three hours per week on routine tasks. This early adoption underscores BBVA’s position as an innovator in the banking sector, applying emerging AI capabilities in a secure and responsible way to transform work processes and empower teams.

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SOURCE: BBVA