US government approves OpenAI, Google, Anthropic civilian AI contracts
The US government’s central purchasing arm has announced the inclusion of OpenAI, Alphabet Inc.’s Google, and Anthropic to its roster of approved artificial intelligence vendors. This move paves the way for the broader implementation of AI technology within civilian federal agencies.
The General Services Administration is set to announce a significant move on Tuesday that aims to accelerate the adoption of AI tools within the federal government. This initiative will facilitate access to these technologies through its Multiple Award Schedule, a federal contracting platform that features pre-established contract terms. In the absence of that flexibility, agencies would typically engage in lengthy negotiations, often spanning months, to establish their own terms for utilizing the technology.
Officials from the GSA reported that the models developed by three companies — OpenAI’s ChatGPT, Google’s Gemini, and Anthropic’s Claude — underwent assessment based on various performance and security criteria. The agency has yet to reveal the specifics of the contracts. However, it has leveraged its purchasing power to secure significant discounts from software providers such as Adobe Inc., Salesforce Inc., and Google.
Additionally, other prominent AI companies will be taken into account for the marketplace. According to officials, the first three vendors were simply further along in the procurement process. “We’re not in the position of picking winners or losers here.” “We want the maximum number of tools to provide to all federal government employees to make them as productive as possible,” stated GSA Deputy Administrator Stephen Ehikian. “There’s going to be different tools for different use cases.”
The recent decision follows closely on the heels of President Donald Trump signing three executive orders designed to redefine the government’s involvement in AI. Among these directives is a requirement that federal agencies procure language models that are “free from ideological bias.” The General Services Administration (GSA) has indicated that enforcing the presidential ban on what Trump refers to as “woke AI” will require a process that unfolds agency by agency. “But at the same time, this is a race, right?” “And as the president said, we’re going to win this race,” stated Josh Gruenbaum, commissioner of GSA’s Federal Acquisition Service.
The inclusion of the three companies in the multiple award schedule, which facilitates easier access to commercial IT products for agencies, signifies that federal bureaucrats can now start utilizing large language models that were previously limited to smaller pilot projects or national security applications. The Pentagon has awarded AI contracts to OpenAI and Elon Musk’s xAI, distinct from the announcements made by the GSA on Tuesday. According to officials from the General Services Administration, numerous agencies, such as the Treasury Department and the Office of Personnel Management, have already shown interest in utilizing the new platform. During the prior presidential administration, federal agencies pinpointed various potential applications for AI, including the processing of patent applications, the detection of tax fraud, the review of grant submissions, and the copy-editing of press releases.
Scott Kupor, Director of the Office of Personnel Management, expressed his vision for leveraging AI technology to create customer service chatbots and to condense the vast number of public comments on rulemaking. He noted that this innovation could streamline a process that has historically hindered regulatory changes. However, he emphasized that agencies must also recruit knowledgeable employees. “We’re probably missing people who are super conversant with very modern, AI-related stuff,” he stated. Kupor stated, “Clearly, we can’t just throw things against the wall and see what sticks.”
