BBVA scales AI to 11,000 staff, saving 3 hrs weekly per employee
When I first heard about BBVA’s internal AI rollout, it felt less like a sleek tech demo and more like a massive logistics puzzle. The bank had been tinkering with a few custom GPTs in isolated teams, but the real moment arrived when those bots left the pilot sandbox and slipped into day-to-day work. In the last twelve months the lender says it built roughly 20,000 bespoke models - yet only about 4,000 see regular use.
Those that do get used were run through workflow simulations, and some steps apparently sped up by more than 80 percent. Employees who actually rely on the assistants report saving about three hours each week, and the weekly active usage now hovers around 83 percent across the whole organization. The figures hint that the hype is turning into real utility, though scaling any AI effort still carries operational risk.
So how did BBVA move from a few thousand early adopters to a bank-wide deployment? The answer comes straight from the team that ran the expansion.
"We deployed initially to 3,000 employees, then very quickly jumped to 11,000 employees." - ~3 hours saved per employee per week - 83% weekly active usage - Efficiency improvements up to 80%+ in workflow tests - 20,000+ Custom GPTs created across the bank, with around 4,000 GPTs used frequently BBVA built its AI program on trust, governance, and structured learning--enabling scale without compromising security. "We created this atmosphere of being in a safe place to learn and to use AI," says Alfaro. Rather than pushing experimentation underground, BBVA brought it into a trusted environment and reduced shadow-AI risk by giving employees secure tools and clear guardrails. "Instead of shadow AI… we gave them a platform that was safe so they could start experimenting," Alfaro notes, "and we gave specific training for 250 leaders, including our CEO and chairman." - ChatGPT Enterprise deployed across teams globally - Security, legal, and compliance aligned from the start - Thousands of Custom GPTs created by employees - 250 senior leaders trained, including the CEO and chairman This structured approach is now showing results at scale.
BBVA’s rollout shows AI moving past the pilot stage. They started with about 3,000 staff, then rolled the tools out to roughly 11,000 employees. Each user seems to save around three hours a week, and the weekly active usage hovers near 83 percent.
In internal tests, efficiency jumps topped 80 percent, and more than 20,000 custom GPTs have been built - only about 4,000 of those get used regularly. The figures point to a real shift in how routine work gets done. Still, the bank hasn’t shared any numbers on profit impact or customer outcomes.
How they’ll stitch these models into legacy systems is still fuzzy, and it’s hard to say if the productivity boost will hold as more people hop on board. The move signals BBVA’s wish to make AI a core part of the business, not just a side project. Whether those high usage rates can be sustained will need close watching.
For now, the data suggests a strong internal efficiency push, but we’re still waiting on external proof.
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Common Questions Answered
How many BBVA employees are currently using the internal AI tools, and what was the initial deployment size?
BBVA expanded its AI rollout from an initial 3,000 employees to 11,000 staff members. This rapid scaling means that roughly one‑third of the bank’s workforce now regularly accesses the custom GPT tools.
What time savings does BBVA report per employee after adopting the AI tools?
Each employee using BBVA’s AI suite saves about three hours per week, according to the bank’s internal metrics. This reduction translates into significant productivity gains across routine tasks and processes.
How many custom GPT models has BBVA created, and how many are used frequently?
The bank has built more than 20,000 bespoke GPT models across its divisions, but only around 4,000 of those see regular, frequent use. The disparity highlights the experimental nature of many models while focusing resources on the most valuable bots.
What efficiency improvements have BBVA’s workflow simulations shown after AI integration?
Internal workflow tests indicate efficiency gains of up to 80 percent when AI‑driven bots are employed. These improvements, combined with an 83 percent weekly active usage rate, demonstrate the tangible impact of the AI rollout on operational speed.