Most banks create an app and ask customers to come to them. PBVA He tries something different. The Spanish banking group has launched a live chat app within ChatGPT for users in Italy and Germany, allowing customers to ask questions about accounts, cards and savings products without leaving the BBVA assistant. I mentioned.
The application handles informational queries in natural language. Users can check account conditions, compare card types, and explore savings products by asking questions the way they would ask a person. Conversations include direct links to related product pages. There is no separate login. There is no navigation to the bank-owned interface. The banking experience begins within the chat.
Meet customers where they are
The logic behind this move is clear and straightforward. BBVA noted that ChatGPT has become one of the primary channels through which people search for information online. Building a presence within it is less about technology and more about distribution. A bank that shows up where a customer is already asking questions doesn’t need to convince them to open a separate application first.
Murat Kalkan, global head of digital banking at BBVA, told the bank’s website that the integration marks the beginning of a new chapter in which artificial intelligence becomes part of everyday banking. The current version is designed for product discovery. BBVA expects to evolve into a digital companion that helps customers navigate financial decisions conversationally over time.
This initiative is part of BBVA’s broader strategic partnership with OpenAI. The bank has already deployed ChatGPT Enterprise to more than 11,000 employees, with plans to expand to 120,000 employees globally, PYMNTS I mentioned. During the initial rollout, 80% of participants used the assistant daily and reported saving an average of three hours per week on routine tasks.
A broader race for the financial front
BBVA is not alone in monitoring where the customer relationship is moving. ChatGPT now lets Pro users connect financial accounts across 12,000+ organizations through Plaid and receive answers based on their actual spending and cash flow, PYMNTS I mentioned. More than 200 million people already ask ChatGPT questions about personal finance every month.
Advertisement: Scroll to continue
This number is what banks care about. The conversational interface that lies between the customer and their financial decisions is not a neutral infrastructure. It is the relationship layer. The organization that owns that layer, whether a bank, AI company or platform, has the first point of contact for every financial question a customer has.
Consumer data reinforces urgency. Thirty-seven percent of powerful AI users report that they use native AI platforms as their primary tool for managing finance and banking, PYMNTS Found. Among major users, this share has doubled in one month. Custom AI platforms are gaining ground in finance and banking as a category, while built-in tools within merchant and bank apps are losing ground, PYMNTS Intelligence I mentioned.
BBVA’s ChatGPT application does not move funds or execute transactions. It is positioned as a tool for discovery and information. But the ambition described by the bank points to something more integrated over time. Currently, BBVA claims a position within the interface before the interface becomes the bank.
For all of our PYMNTS AI coverage, subscribe to our daily newsletter Amnesty International newsletter.
