OpenAI has struck a deal to let federal agencies use its most powerful AI engines for just $1 over a twelve-month period. The agreement, unveiled Wednesday by OpenAI and the General Services Administration, allows staff across all executive branch departments to deploy ChatGPT and related frontier models through the GSA’s online procurement portal. Agencies can spin up instances for everything from drafting briefings to processing data.
This arrangement caps off months of intense lobbying by OpenAI CEO Sam Altman and senior company leaders. The team has courted White House officials and agency staff since before President Donald Trump returned to office in January. Meetings have taken place at both the Eisenhower Executive Office Building and GSA headquarters, as OpenAI pushed to align its roadmap with the White House’s technology agenda.
In an emailed statement, Sam Altman said:
“One of the best ways to make sure AI works for everyone is to put it in the hands of the people serving the country. We’re proud to partner with the General Services Administration, delivering on President Trump’s AI Action Plan, to make ChatGPT available across the federal government, helping public servants deliver for the American people.”
Since May, OpenAI executives have held technical demos and briefings with the GSA and regulators at the Food and Drug Administration, covering topics like data security and model safety. Internal records show the company aimed to highlight use cases such as drafting policy memos, analyzing large datasets, and automating routine tasks across federal offices. These meetings were part of a broader push to integrate AI into government processes.
On July 23, OpenAI Chief Operating Officer Brad Lightcap and colleagues received an invite to a private reception hosted by the Hill and Valley Forum in Washington, D.C. Federal staff working on AI policy, such as DOGE associates Akash Bobba and Edward Coristine, also appeared on the guest list. It is not clear if Lightcap attended. Others invited included Alexandr Wang and representatives from Palantir.
On Tuesday, the GSA added three AI services to its federal procurement schedule: Anthropic’s Claude, Google’s Gemini, and OpenAI’s ChatGPT. This update supports President Trump’s AI Action Plan, which calls for accelerating American innovation and field testing. Agencies can now select among multiple AI options through a single contracting vehicle, simplifying the purchase process for chatbots and analytics applications. It marks a significant shift in procurement strategy.
Also on Tuesday, OpenAI made two open-weight models available—its first such release in six years. Developers and agencies can download complete model weight files for use on local servers, enabling offline operation and parameter adjustments. These flexible deployments help address security concerns for departments handling sensitive information while maintaining the performance of advanced AI capabilities. The move highlights the firm’s commitment to greater transparency.
During Elon Musk’s time overseeing the Department of Government Efficiency, federal AI efforts picked up speed. DOGE rolled out experimental projects, including a chatbot called GSAi and automated support tools. At the Department of Housing and Urban Development, a DOGE specialist used AI to condense lengthy draft regulations into concise summaries, which were then refined by human reviewers. The push reflected DOGE’s mandate to modernize operations.
Requests for comment sent to the GSA went unanswered by publication time, leaving core aspects of the procurement rollout unverified. Federal law requires the GSA to outline pricing structures and usage guidelines, but no formal explanation was provided. Observers note that the agency’s lack of public detail may slow down adoption by agencies seeking clarity on service levels, support, and compliance issues.
U.S. AI companies have ramped up outreach to federal leaders. Shortly after Trump’s inauguration, he introduced OpenAI’s Stargate initiative, a large-scale data center project, with Sam Altman beside him at the White House. In May, Altman and others joined a presidential trip to the Middle East where they announced partnerships focused on technology and strategic cooperation between the U.S. and regional governments. These deals spanned defense and civil sectors.
Government agencies hold massive volumes of data that can inform AI-driven analysis. OpenAI has pledged that ChatGPT interactions with federal employees will not be used for model training. As departments look to update legacy systems, generative AI offers tools for automating tasks like report writing and document review. The Defense Department looms as a top customer, with President Trump’s 2026 budget proposing $1.01 trillion in military spending—a 13.4 percent increase.
Update 08/06/25 2:25pm ET: This article was revised to include Sam Altman’s statement.