For Ginbee Go, head of consumer banking at Bank of the Philippine Islands (BPI), digital transformation has never been about technology for its own sake. “At the heart of transformation is culture. You need engaged employees who feel they own the journey,” she said. BPI’s generative artificial intelligence (Gen AI) initiative is shaped around this philosophy, starting not with customer-facing applications but with internal productivity gains that improve customer outcomes indirectly.

The bank has launched BPI Express Assist Intelligence (BEAi), its proprietary large language model (LLM)-based internal assistant, within a secure sandbox environment. “We train BAI on our policies, procedures and data, so it generates accurate, contextual responses,” Go explained. The platform supports knowledge base searches, summarises emails and policies, and helps frontline staff respond more efficiently to customer queries.

Adoption has been swift. Within just two months of roll-out, over 96% of BPI’s over 1,800 branch officers actively use BEAi daily. “That is a tremendous adoption rate, especially for enterprise tech,” Go said. “It’s because they see the value—it saves time, improves confidence, and lets them focus on serving customers.”

Security, structure and governance at the core

While many banks are exploring public Gen AI application programming interfaces (APIs), BPI chose a more cautious approach. “We use cloud-based (Azure) deployments with private APIs, ensuring data isolation and enterprise-grade security,” said Go. “Security and accuracy are paramount. We do not want hallucinations or misinterpretations, especially in a highly regulated environment.”

The bank has implemented a cross-functional governance framework involving risk, legal, compliance and cybersecurity. Every Gen AI use case—from document summarisation to knowledge retrieval—is subject to internal controls, bias reviews and regulatory alignment, including guidance from the Philippines’ National Privacy Commission.

Go highlighted the importance of this framework for sustainable transformation. “Transformation is not a destination. It is a journey that requires discipline in execution and governance.”

From productivity to engagement: a culture of innovation

One of the clearest successes of the Gen AI rollout is in employee engagement. BPI’s recent internal engagement survey reported a record 95% score in the consumer banking group, with 99% participation—among the highest within the Ayala group. “When people see that AI helps them do their job better—not replaces them—they embrace it,” said Go. “That mindset shift is critical.”

The bank supports this with prompt engineering training for staff and by embedding productivity tools directly into the Microsoft 365 suite, which most employees already use. This includes features from Outlook, Teams and SharePoint, enabling co-pilot functionalities for tasks like meeting notes, presentation drafts and internal communications.

Laying the groundwork for customer-facing AI

While current Gen AI use cases are primarily internal, BPI has clear plans to expand to customer-facing applications. A new AI-powered virtual assistant is being tested for the bank’s contact centre and virtual store. “We are looking at agentic AI to initiate outreach, triage customer needs, and seamlessly hand over to a relationship manager if needed,” Go said. “This expands the reach and productivity of our advisory teams.”

BPI already uses traditional AI and machine learning through its mobile app, including personal finance nudges and behavioural insights. These encourage customers to act on transactions, savings or investment opportunities based on their own usage patterns. “It is not just personalisation. It is hyper-personalisation, rooted in behaviour,” she added.

Balancing ambition with responsible innovation

Go believes that BPI’s strengths as an incumbent—trust, reach and a strong balance sheet—are now key enablers in the age of AI. “People do not want to bank with a brand that’s just sexy or fast. They want one that is secure, that’s been there in good times and crises, and that is going to stay,” she said.

That reputation allows BPI to take calculated, strategic steps in scaling innovation. “We see Gen AI as a moonshot opportunity—eventually, banking will be invisible, embedded in daily life,” Go reflected. “But until then, we’re building the foundation—responsibly, securely and with purpose.”
A fast follower with firm foundations

BPI’s Gen AI journey exemplifies how a traditional bank can lead digital transformation by focusing on its core strengths—culture, governance and customer trust—while embracing new technologies. As Go puts it: “We may not be the first to deploy every shiny tool. But we are deliberate. And when we move, we scale with impact.”

With its early success in internal adoption, structured rollout of Gen AI tools and a clear roadmap for customer applications, BPI is positioning itself not just as a fast follower—but as a resilient innovator in the next wave of AI-driven banking.