How Itaú is building generative AI for its entire customer base

Why it matters

Itaú, one of Brazil's largest banks, is deploying generative artificial intelligence across its customer base through ia.i, a conversational interface built on OpenAI models, and IARA, an internal governance and orchestration platform. The initiative applies the bank's AI First strategy in a heavily regulated financial sector. ia.i consolidates interactions related to accounts, credit, cards, and insurance into a single text- or voice-activated environment, with connections to human specialists when needed. A contextual layer called Customer DNA helps the bank tailor responses to individual needs, habits, and life stages. CTO Carlos Eduardo Mazzei explains that OpenAI's models were selected because they span both simple, cost-sensitive tasks and complex reasoning requiring careful grounding. IARA addresses cost control, response accuracy, and responsible AI policies, enabling governed access to multiple models. A legal-department application automates document reading and analysis over a vast repository, delivering efficiency gains across departmental processes. The story matters because it shows how a major regulated institution balances personalization, scale, and compliance while making the underlying technology nearly invisible to customers.