MUFG and OpenAI: An AI Revolution at the Heart of Japanese Finance

MUFG and OpenAI: A Strategic Alliance for the Future of Finance

The financial group MUFG, one of the largest in Japan, has made a bold decision by integrating ChatGPT Enterprise for approximately 35,000 employees of Mitsubishi UFJ Bank. This initiative, carried out in partnership with OpenAI, aims to transform internal operations and create new customer experiences in the retail banking sector.

MUFG, with Mitsubishi UFJ Bank as its central pillar, is a major player in the financial services industry both in Japan and internationally. Its activities cover a wide range of services, from banking operations to securities, credit cards, and leasing.

For MUFG, artificial intelligence is not merely a tool for improving efficiency. It is seen as a lever to expand creativity and human thinking, enabling co-learning between employees and AI to develop innovative financial services. This vision has led MUFG to closely collaborate with OpenAI to deploy ChatGPT Enterprise within Mitsubishi UFJ Bank, with the goal of reinventing the customer experience through AI.

In October 2024, MUFG began working with OpenAI to modernize its financial operations and enhance efficiency through generative AI. Starting in 2026, Mitsubishi UFJ Bank initiated a gradual rollout of ChatGPT Enterprise so that approximately 35,000 employees could use it in their daily work, as MUFG continues its journey towards becoming an AI-native enterprise.

A Strong AI Foundation with OpenAI

MUFG is committed to building an infrastructure where AI is seamlessly integrated into the daily lives of its employees. This transformation relies on strong leadership commitment and empowering employees to use AI in their daily tasks.

Tadashi Yamamoto, Chief Digital Transformation Officer (CDTO) of MUFG, expresses his belief that AI will fundamentally transform the financial sector. According to him, to quickly integrate AI, it is crucial to create an environment and culture where every employee can use AI naturally.

OpenAI is MUFG's preferred partner in this transformation. Yamamoto describes OpenAI as a practical partner, from service design to implementation, helping MUFG innovate in customer service and transform its banking operations.

Training Employees to Use AI

The deployment of ChatGPT Enterprise by MUFG is not limited to providing access to the tool. Employees must understand how and when to use it, integrate it into their daily work, and use it confidently. As a financial institution, MUFG has also established clear processes for information management, approval pathways, and usage rules.

OpenAI has supported the deployment of the tool from its introduction to its adoption. This includes guidance on enterprise usage, operational planning, product education, training programs for all employees, customized workshops on GPT, and study sessions for executives. MUFG has also made AI training mandatory: employees were required to complete e-learning before they could use ChatGPT Enterprise.

Shimano, an executive at MUFG, emphasizes that the main obstacle was not the technology itself, but the internal organization. Employees were unsure how to use the tool or what they were allowed to do with it. Thanks to OpenAI's training program, a positive cycle has been created, encouraging more and more employees to adopt the tool.

Sayuri Yonese, Vice President of the AI and Solutions Department at MUFG Bank, states that OpenAI's support has helped MUFG create a foundation for employees to expand their use of AI autonomously. OpenAI provided customized training materials for GPT, banking-specific examples, and best practices to promote large-scale adoption. MUFG then appointed AI champions in each department. Rather than relying on a single central team, these champions encourage their colleagues to experiment with AI and help extend its use within each business area.

This change is evident in internal conversations. Previous discussions often revolved around questions like "What can we do with AI?" and "Are we even allowed to use it?" Today, the conversation has evolved to "How should we use it?" and "Where should we apply it next?"

Tangible Results

Since the beginning of the deployment of ChatGPT Enterprise to approximately 35,000 employees of Mitsubishi UFJ Bank, early signs of adoption and impact are emerging throughout the organization.

Participation in training among employees who received accounts has reached 100%, with mandatory e-learning helping to establish shared standards for safe and effective use.

After the customized training led by OpenAI, employees created over 1,800 customized GPTs in four months, demonstrating that teams were beginning to integrate AI into their daily workflows.

In certain research tasks, such as tracking AI trends and preparing updates for executives and internal stakeholders, employees reported a 20 to 30% reduction in their workload.

Across the bank, employees have also created numerous customized GPTs known internally as "AI bankers." Employees in each department adapt these AI bankers to their own workflows, using them to streamline time-consuming tasks and make specialized knowledge, which once depended on specific individuals, more accessible to the entire organization.

Yonese describes the AI bankers as supports for employees. "They help our employees focus on work that creates greater value and on tasks that lead to better value for our clients," she says.

For MUFG, however, the true value of AI does not simply lie in reducing workload. It is about reinvesting the time saved into client visits, stronger proposals, and decisions and approvals that remain the responsibility of humans. By using AI, employees can focus more on tasks that only humans can accomplish and spend more time directly interacting with clients. This idea is at the heart of MUFG's AI-native transformation.

Reinventing Financial Services with AI

MUFG and OpenAI's work does not stop at internal transformation. The company is also exploring how AI can change the way customers discover financial services, seek advice, and take action.

One example is Moneytree, a wealth management application. Through applications in ChatGPT, users will be able to ask questions in natural language from ChatGPT and consult information such as account balances and transaction details. The experience may use follow-up questions to organize relevant information and present it in a more understandable conversational format.

At WealthNavi, which provides robo-advisory services, an organization dedicated to AI is being created, and collaboration with OpenAI is progressing. Building on the company's efforts to innovate in fully automated asset management, WealthNavi is now looking to further accelerate this journey with AI.

As part of these efforts, MUFG, including WealthNavi, plans to use OpenAI's technology in digital banking at the heart of emutt, its integrated financial services brand. More specifically, it is preparing to implement an AI concierge that makes finance more accessible through conversations with clients, as well as the MAP (Money Advisory Platform), a comprehensive advisory platform designed to provide personalized recommendations tailored to each stage of the client's life.

"We want to provide financial services 24/7, without the constraints of time or place," says Yamamoto. "In digital banking, we want to offer personalized recommendations that only AI can make possible."

MUFG is evolving beyond the conventional experience centered on banking applications and branches towards a future where people can seamlessly transition from financial guidance to transactions through their daily interactions with AI. Through its digital banking, MUFG aims to bring AI-native finance to a larger number of clients.