Anthropic, Google and OpenAI land GSA contract for governmentwide use
Agencies across the federal government will now be able to buy certain artificial intelligence products from OpenAI, Google and Anthropic, the General Services Administration announced Tuesday in the agency’s latest embrace of automation tools in government.
The GSA revealed that Anthropic’s Claude, Google’s Gemini, and OpenAI’s ChatGPT products were added to the agency’s Multiple Award Schedule, providing other federal, state, and local governments with access to these AI products for a cheaper price.
Acting GSA Administrator Michael Rigas linked the move to President Donald Trump’s AI Action Plan, which encourages increased use of AI in the federal government.
“By making these cutting-edge AI solutions available to federal agencies, we’re leveraging the private sector’s innovation to transform every facet of government operations,” Rigas said in a statement. “From streamlining back-office processes to revolutionizing employee and citizen experiences and reimagining how we deliver mission-critical services, AI holds immense opportunities.”
The GSA said it hopes the schedule additions will “facilitate strong, widespread federal agency adoption and ensure easy access to improve their everyday workflows and processes.”
Josh Gruenbaum, commissioner of the GSA’s Federal Acquisition Service, also referenced Trump’s AI Action Plan in the Tuesday announcement, pointing to the roadmap’s emphasis on preventing “ideological bias” in AI models.
The 28-page action plan, released last month, said federal agencies should ensure AI systems are “built from the ground up with freedom of speech and expression in mind,” and that AI used by the government “objectively reflects truth rather than social engineering agendas.”
“As we procure these products, we’re focused on models that prioritize truthfulness, accuracy, transparency, and freedom from ideological bias, aligning with the Trump Administration’s policy that federally procured AI systems must prioritize truth and accuracy over ideological agendas,” Gruenbaum said in a statement.
Generative AI companies like OpenAI and Anthropic have pursued FedRAMP accreditation, though the process is often lengthy. To work around this, these AI companies have recently partnered with platforms like Microsoft Azure commercial cloud or Amazon Web Services to offer their technology to federal agencies while awaiting accreditation.
The announcement comes as GSA looks to bring its own AI chatbot, GSAi, to other agencies as well.
Zach Whitman, GSA’s chief AI officer and data officer, said last week that the agency is regularly using GSAi, which was rolled out internally in March, but is now pursuing the “next iteration” for the platform.
GSAi gives users access to several models, including ones from OpenAI, Anthropic and Google, and aims to boost workflow efficiency at the agency.
“We’re in active conversations right now with other agencies — how we can empower other agencies like ourselves to make better buying decisions,” Whitman said last week.
Should GSAi be offered to other federal agencies, GSA would still be the responsible agency for maintaining the infrastructure and analytics of the platform, Whitman said.
