OpenAI is offering ChatGPT AI to the government for $1

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OpenAI is making a bold play to become the government’s go-to AI provider by offering its enterprise-grade version of ChatGPT to federal agencies for just $1 per agency for an entire year. Yes, that’s right, one dollar.

This major move comes after OpenAI, along with Google and Anthropic, was added to the US General Services Administration’s (GSA) list of approved AI vendors. 

That list lets civilian agencies easily purchase AI tools through pre-negotiated contracts on a federal platform called the Multiple Award Schedule (MAS), streamlining access without the usual red tape.

What sets OpenAI apart is the extremely low cost, something that competitors haven’t matched yet. 

The GSA praised the company’s approach and publicly encouraged other American AI companies to follow suit, though it remains to be seen if Google or Anthropic will offer similar deals.

As part of the package, federal agencies will also get unlimited access to OpenAI’s advanced models for 60 days, plus training materials and a dedicated government user community. 

This support aims to help federal employees understand and safely integrate AI tools into their daily work.

However, security is a big concern. Government agencies want to make sure that sensitive data doesn’t accidentally end up being used to train public AI models. 

The GSA says it’s taking a “cautious, security-first” approach, and more details on how that will be implemented are expected soon.

This partnership also comes just weeks after the Trump administration released its AI Action Plan, which encourages broader government use of AI while also banning “woke AI” that isn’t seen as ideologically neutral from federal contracts.

OpenAI’s aggressive pricing and early support structure could give it a major edge in winning over federal agencies. 

If successful, it could become the backbone of AI-driven operations across the US government.

Is OpenAI’s $1 government deal a smart strategy to build long-term partnerships with federal agencies? Should we be concerned about one AI company potentially dominating government operations, or is competition healthy for driving innovation in public services? Tell us below in the comments, or reach us via our Twitter or Facebook.