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Banco Santander has just taken a decisive step in its technology strategy: a partnership with OpenAI to accelerate its transformation into an "AI-native bank". With 15,000 employees in Europe and the Americas already using ChatGPT Enterprise in their daily tasks - one of the fastest deployments in the world - the Spanish bank is looking to make artificial intelligence not just another tool, but the core of its operations. Its ambition: for every decision, process and banking interaction to be powered by data and artificial intelligence (source: Expansión, August 2025).

The agreement with OpenAI and the new working model

Santander, chaired by Ana Botín, signed a collaboration agreement with the creator of ChatGPT to integrate generative AI into its day-to-day business. Ricardo Martín Manjón, Global Head of Data and AI (ex-BBVA), leads the strategy, reporting directly to the Chairman.

In just two months, 15,000 employees in various areas – from marketing to software developers and commercial bankers – are already using ChatGPT Enterprise, with the goal of reaching 30,000 by the end of 2025, which will represent around 15% of the global workforce. According to the executive, these tools increase productivity by 20-30% in specific tasks, save time and free up human capital for higher-value work.

The financial impact is already tangible: in 2024, the application of AI initiatives allowed Santander to save more than €200 million and free up more than 100,000 hours per year that are now redirected to strategic processes. The bank is committed to making AI increasingly “invisible” to the user, integrated naturally into the banking experience.

The global wave: banks already putting AI at the core

Santander’s move is not isolated. Globally, large banks are vying to become AI-powered institutions:

  • JPMorgan Chase (USA) employs AI in fraud detection and automated financial advice.
  • HSBC (UK) integrates predictive models to manage risk and personalize digital experiences.
  • BBVA (Spain/Mexico/Turkey) expands its “AI factory” to new markets and experiments with generative AI in internal processes.
  • Asian banks (China, Japan, India) lead in the use of intelligent agents and advanced chatbots, with strong investment in automation of critical processes and customer experience.

International consulting firms (McKinsey, Deloitte, BCG) project that by 2030 banks will be “AI-native”, where all operations – from risk management to customer service – will be powered by intelligent models (sources: Funds Society, Oracle, ITSitio, ALS Innovation, BBVA, August 2025).

Impacts and lessons learned for Latin America

Santander is a player with a strong presence in Latin America, and its strategy sets a precedent for the region. Latin American banking has already advanced in digitization, but AI still lags behind: less than 40% of banks have actually implemented it (source: Infocorp, Uruguay, 2025). Here, Santander’s learnings can accelerate the curve:

  • Measurable productivity: 20-30% increases in internal processes.
  • Financial efficiency: savings of hundreds of millions of euros.
  • Change management: gradual incorporation of employees to new tools, with impact metrics.

In Latin America, fintechs in Mexico, Colombia and Brazil are already exploring generative AI for microcredit, customer service and alternative scoring. However, barriers persist: resistant organizational culture, poorly adapted regulatory frameworks, legacy systems and a shortage of AI talent. Santander can become a catalyst by sharing best practices and learnings from its global deployment.

Strategic recommendations from consulting firms

According to McKinsey, Deloitte and BCG, accelerating AI adoption in banking requires:

  • Cultural transformation: fostering a digital and innovative mindset throughout the organization.
  • Flexible technological infrastructure: modernize banking cores with modular and cloud architectures.
  • Specialized talent: train and retain experts in data, MLOps and AI ethics.
  • Strategic alliances: working with technologies such as OpenAI, Microsoft and Google to accelerate secure and scalable deployment.
  • Balanced regulation: regulatory frameworks that protect data and consumers, but do not stifle innovation.

The bank of the future

The Santander-OpenAI alliance is not just an efficiency project: it is the basis of a new banking model where artificial intelligence becomes organizational DNA. For the region, the case reinforces a clear lesson: AI is not an add-on, it is the next critical infrastructure of the financial system.

At FactorIT we observe that projects of this magnitude only prosper when they are managed with a holistic vision: technology, culture, regulation and processes must move forward in sync. The future of banking will be AI-native, and those who make the early leap will define the standards of the next decade.

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