The U.S. government has officially designated OpenAI, Google, and Anthropic as approved artificial intelligence (AI) vendors, paving the way for easier adoption of their tools across federal agencies. U.S.
Announced by the General Services Administration (GSA), the move is part of a broader push by the U.S. to accelerate the responsible use of AI in civilian government operations. The companies—creators of ChatGPT, Gemini, and Claude—are now available through the GSA’s Multiple Award Schedule, a contracting mechanism that offers pre-negotiated pricing and terms.
Previously, agencies had to go through time-consuming legal and procurement processes to acquire AI tools. The GSA has effectively removed much of that red tape by adding these three firms to its schedule.
“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,” said GSA Deputy Administrator Stephen Ehikian. “There’s going to be different tools for different use cases.”
Though specific contract values remain undisclosed, the GSA is known for securing deep discounts through bulk purchasing—similar to past deals with Adobe, Salesforce, and Google.
The selected AI models underwent GSA vetting for safety, performance, and security. Officials added that more AI vendors may be approved soon, pending completion of the evaluation process.
Federal agencies prepare for widespread AI integration
For example, the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) plans to use AI to develop customer service chatbots and analyze public comments on federal regulations. OPM Director Scott Kupor noted that manually summarizing tens of thousands of citizen responses often delays the regulatory process, but said that with AI, the agency could work faster and more accurately.
Other departments like the Treasury and the Department of Commerce are exploring AI to help detect tax fraud , process patents, and support grant application reviews. Until now, many of these tools were limited to small-scale pilot projects, often siloed within national security or research-focused initiatives. The GSA’s new approval opens the door for agency-wide and cross-agency adoption.
The Pentagon has already been ahead of the curve, issuing contracts to OpenAI and Elon Musk’s xAI for military-related projects. Those deals are separate from the GSA program but signal a federal consensus: AI is now a core component of U.S. government strategy.
White House sets new standards to curb AI bias
The GSA’s announcement follows a recent push from U.S. President Donald Trump to reshape federal AI policy . Just days before the vendor list was released, Trump signed three executive orders to tighten government AI use oversight.
This rule suggests that it will be implemented at the agency level, with each department deciding what bias is and how they imagine they can test for it. Trump and other conservative leaders have regularly referred to bias as the “woke AI” problem.
The effort goes beyond simply processing new technology, said Josh Gruenbaum, Commissioner of the GSA’s Federal Acquisition Service. He called it winning the global race in artificial intelligence, the same thing the president said when he declared that “the U.S. must win.”
Still, the inclusion of OpenAI, Google, and Anthropic, companies often accused by conservatives of holding liberal biases, suggests the government focuses more on utility and performance than ideology, at least in the early stages.
The GSA noted that the agency’s vetting process included bias assessments, security checks, and performance evaluations, and added that more tools would be added as they meet the required standards.
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