SSA seeks direction for new enterprise AI strategy
The Social Security Administration is seeking feedback from the public on an enterprise artificial intelligence strategy that will inform how the agency leverages AI and agentic capabilities across its work.
In a request for information posted Friday, SSA said it wants to “accelerate” the construction of its “coordinated, agency-wide approach” to the emerging technology.
“SSA’s approach will align with broader federal AI policy and build on lessons learned from other agencies and the private sector,” the document stated. “This RFI is one input among several informing that strategy.”
SSA is specifically interested in five overarching areas, though respondents are not expected to address all of those topics.
The first area listed is pipeline, referring to the sourcing and prioritization of AI opportunities. The agency seeks information on models, case studies and other approaches that agencies or industry have taken on AI use cases. SSA also wants details on “concrete mechanisms” it can use to connect with external partners “for ongoing coordination on AI strategy and implementation.”
On the talent front, the Social Security Administration is seeking approaches “for attracting and onboarding” individuals with AI skills into the federal government, as well as retaining them. The RFI makes note of various strategies for tapping into the AI talent pool, including via “direct-hire authorities, details or rotational assignments, fellowships, and public-private partnership models.”
To draw in top AI talent, SSA is zeroing in on infrastructure as well, particularly enterprise architecture. The agency wants “high-level ideas” to “support AI at scale.” The RFI mentions data readiness, platform layers, and governance and oversight layers specifically, and asks respondents to focus their answers on “architectural approaches and models” rather than vendors or products.
The final two category callouts are training and governance. On the former, SSA is looking for “approaches to training and change management that help managers, technicians, and other staff adopt and effectively use AI tools in their daily work.” And on the latter, the agency is interested in “governance models that balance speed of deployment with accountability, transparency, and public trust, particularly for an agency delivering benefits directly to the public.”
The agency released an enterprise AI strategy in September 2025, though the 13-page document did not include any mentions of agentic AI. SSA’s most recent AI inventory lists one agentic use case — a non-high-impact IT tool in the pre-deployment stage that’s aimed at increasing “developer efficiency through faster coding, time savings and cost reduction.”
Responses to the RFI are due Sept. 28.
