OpenAI is launching a new version of its popular ChatGPT model that is specifically tailored to government agencies and workers as the artificial intelligence (AI) firm seeks to remain a top player in the AI space.
The product, dubbed “ChatGPT Gov,” will give workers at U.S. government agencies the “most powerful version” of OpenAI’s ChatGPT Enterprise model, which currently offers users enterprise-grade security and privacy.
“AI is more than just a tool. It’s one of the great American inventions of our lifetime,” said Kevin Weil, OpenAI’s chief product officer, on a call Monday previewing the announcement. “It’s a powerful economic driver, boosting productivity, unlocking innovation, creating new opportunities across every sector of society.”
“That mission extends deeply into our work with government, with both a civil and a national security focus,” he added.
Under ChatGPT Gov, federal agencies will have access to OpenAI’s top models even when dealing with sensitive information, the company said Tuesday. Users will do this within the government’s current secure hosting environment of Microsoft Azure commercial cloud or Azure government cloud tenant.
“This new approach aims to streamline the authorization process for handling sensitive data while delivering the efficiency and productivity benefits that agencies need, all built on U.S. technology,” Weil continued.
The company touted this as a way for government agencies to work more efficiently and creatively while helping policymakers understand and responsibly use technology.
It will include many of the same features offered by ChatGPT Enterprise, including saving and sharing conversations, uploading text images and files, interpreting and summarizing text, code, image and mathematics.
Weil emphasized this step will help assure the U.S. stays a top leader in AI innovation as competition ramps up on the global stage.
He later pointed to President Trump’s executive order on AI last week, which focused on prioritizing American leadership in the technology space. The order revoked some existing government policies, which Trump said acted “as barriers to American AI innovation.”
OpenAI saw more than 90,000 government users use ChatGPT across federal, state and local agencies since last year, but ran into issues with government compliance standards.
“We’ve heard from customers that what they want to do, they want to do more with our products but are limited by government compliance requirements,” Felipe Millon, the leader of OpenAI’s Government Go to Market program, said Monday.
With ChatGPT Gov, government agencies will be able to manage their own security and privacy compliance in their own Microsoft Azure commercial cloud or Azure government community cloud tenants, according to Millon.
OpenAI is considered one of the leaders of AI development in the U.S., largely in part because of its ChatGPT chatbot. The app, which currently sits at No. 2 on the Apple’s App Store’s top free apps, has surged in popularity since its 2023 launch.
Since the 2023 launch, the company has continued to evolve its models and step into the U.S. policy space as questions arise over the U.S.’s standing in the global AI race.
Earlier this month, the company encouraged U.S. development of emerging technology to stay ahead of China and other foreign adversaries. OpenAI CEO Sam Altman has expressed an openness to working with Trump and his administration on AI policy and donated $1 million in personal cash to the president’s inaugural committee.
OpenAI is an initial investor in Trump’s new joint venture, Stargate, which will pour a total of up to $500 billion into building AI infrastructure over the next four years.
Weil told The Hill the focus in Washington has been “ensuring that the U.S. wins in AI.”
“OpenAI is the leader in AI today, we are committed to making sure that the U.S. remains ahead, and so I think our interests are very aligned here,” he continued when asked about the Trump administration’s thoughts on ChatGPT Gov.
OpenAI is currently in the middle of getting a FedRAMP certification for ChatGPT Gov Enterprise, OpenAI confirmed. This is the U.S. government’s standardized compliance program for the assessment, approval and meliorating of cloud products and services used by federal agencies.
Weil said Trump is looking at how OpenAI can “streamline” the process to get the modern software into government agencies and help achieve his mission of boosting “government efficiency.”
