GSA debuts new generative AI tool for workers

The General Services Administration on Thursday revealed a new generative AI tool designed to boost efficiency and help automate repetitive tasks. 

The platform, now available to GSA staff, comes amid anxiety that the Department of Government Efficiency might use artificial intelligence to surveil or replace federal workers, who are being laid off in large swaths across the government.

The GSA chatbot can access a series of large language models, including technology from Anthropic and Meta. The system resembles other AI chatbots, and it’s designed to respond to user prompts and help staff with basic tasks, like writing. 

“This tool reflects our proactive approach to innovation and our commitment to providing secure and effective solutions tailored to the unique needs of government work,” Stephen Ehikian, the acting administrator of GSA, said in a statement. “The opportunity to incorporate generative AI into Government work is akin to giving a personal computer to every worker. We are just at the start of our journey using this new tool, but the demand for this technology exists across GSA and the broader government.”

Earlier this month, Wired first reported that the DOGE had deployed a chatbot called GSAi for 1,500 workers. According to Wired, the tool had been in development for several months, but DOGE accelerated the rollout of the platform and eventually wants to use it for data analysis of contracts and procurements.

GSA said in a Thursday statement it is encouraging all of its staff to test the tool. 

The tool’s deployment follows the elimination of 18F, a digital services team that helped federal agencies build technology platforms and make efficient software purchases, and the slimming down of the Technology Transformation Services, a technology consulting group based within GSA. 

With the chatbot, GSA wanted to take an approach that wasn’t dependent on a single vendor, an agency official familiar with its development said. The primary goal of the tool is to promote a culture shift toward using artificial intelligence, the official said. The tool is being measured based on adoption, not hours or workers saved, the person emphasized. Staff from the TTS and IT employees within GSA helped build the tool.

The GSA official said the tool is not meant to be used to make official agency decisions and that the models are walled off from any GSA knowledge bases. There are also safety controls built into the system meant to prevent personal and sensitive information from being shared. The agency isn’t classifying conversations with the chatbot as federal records but prompts are being logged, the person added. 

Eventually, the agency wants to expand the tool so that other agencies can use it and develop an API to offer access to the models. GSA, which is using a managed model service for the chatbot, says it expects to incorporate more models in the near future.

“We want to understand how this tool fits into day-to-day workflows and where adjustments are needed to maximize its value,” Zach Whitman, the agency’s chief AI officer and data officer, said in a statement.