TLDR: OpenAI and Anthropic have made their advanced AI chatbots, ChatGPT Enterprise and Claude, available to the U.S. federal government for a symbolic price of $1 per agency for one year. This strategic move, facilitated by partnerships with the U.S. General Services Administration (GSA), aims to accelerate AI integration into federal operations, enhance efficiency, and align with President Donald Trump’s AI Action Plan. The initiative also sees the launch of USAi.gov, a platform for federal employees to experiment with these and other AI tools.
In a significant development for artificial intelligence integration within the public sector, AI powerhouses OpenAI and Anthropic have reportedly offered their cutting-edge chatbots to the entire U.S. federal government for a nominal fee of just $1 per agency for one year. This strategic pricing model is designed to eliminate financial barriers and encourage widespread adoption of advanced AI capabilities across federal departments.
OpenAI initiated this groundbreaking offer last week, making its ChatGPT Enterprise available to the U.S. executive branch. Not to be outdone, rival Anthropic followed suit on August 12, announcing that its Claude for Enterprise and Claude for Government models would be offered to all three branches of the federal government under the same $1 per agency, per year, arrangement. This move intensifies the competition among AI firms vying for influence and contracts within Washington.
Both companies have partnered with the U.S. General Services Administration (GSA), the federal government’s centralized procurement division, to streamline the process and provide necessary technical support. This collaboration directly supports President Donald Trump’s recently rolled out AI Action Plan, which aims to accelerate AI innovation, reduce bureaucratic hurdles, and empower federal employees with modern technological tools.
Further bolstering this initiative, the GSA launched USAi.gov on August 18, a new platform designed to allow federal workers to experiment with generative AI tools, including chatbots, code builders, and document summarization, at no cost. The platform will feature tools primarily from OpenAI, Anthropic, Google, and Meta, enabling government employees to assess and customize AI solutions for their specific operational needs.
Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei emphasized the broader impact of their offer, stating, “By offering expanded Claude access across all three branches of government, we’re helping the federal workforce leverage frontier AI capabilities to maintain our competitive advantage and better serve the American people.” GSA Deputy Administrator Stephen Ehikian echoed this sentiment, remarking, “USAi means more than access — it’s about delivering a competitive advantage to the American people.” David Shive, GSA Chief Information Officer, added that “USAi helps the government cut costs, improve efficiency, and deliver better services to the public, while maintaining the trust and security the American people expect.”
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OpenAI has assured that ChatGPT Enterprise adheres to strict data privacy standards, confirming that it does not use business data, including inputs or outputs, to train or improve its models. The GSA has also issued an Authority to Use (ATU) for ChatGPT Enterprise, underscoring its commitment to rigorous security and compliance. Since 2024, OpenAI reports that over 90,000 users across more than 3,500 U.S. federal, state, and local government agencies have already sent over 18 million messages on ChatGPT for their daily work, highlighting a growing demand for such tools within the public sector.
