OpenAI and GSA expand discounted AI access across US government

OpenAI and GSA set out a 27-month public-sector AI agreement

OpenAI for Government and the U.S. General Services Administration have announced a multi-year agreement that extends discounted access to OpenAI services across federal, state, local and tribal governments. Eligible organisations will pay no per-user licence fee, normally priced at $15 per user per month, and will receive 50% off usage costs.

The agreement runs for 27 months, from October 1, 2026 through December 31, 2028. It builds on OpenAI’s earlier federal offer and, for the first time under this arrangement, makes the terms available beyond federal agencies.

OpenAI says more than one million government employees already have access to ChatGPT through existing agreements. The expanded eligibility reaches a U.S. public-sector workforce of approximately 23 million people. The company says the offering includes GPT-6 Astra, safeguards, cost predictability and tools intended to support government missions.

Cyber defenders receive Daybreak access and training

The announcement also expands support for cyber defenders working across emergency response, transportation, public health, utilities and other critical systems. Every verified government entity will be approved for Daybreak Blue at 50% off standard commercial pricing, with scaled training and enablement intended to help leaders and defenders use the model and identify vulnerabilities.

Government defenders can request Daybreak Red for advanced vulnerability research, exploit validation and red teaming. That service will be offered at standard commercial pricing. The policy builds on Daybreak for Frontline Defenders, an initiative OpenAI announced the previous week with a $1 billion global commitment to subsidised access, training, technical support and partnerships for frontline cyber defenders.

Examples point to operational uses

OpenAI cited several existing public-sector applications. Daybreak Access has been used to support vulnerability research, malware analysis and security-tool development. The CDC accelerated public-health literature reviews, producing most initial reports in under 30 minutes; OpenAI says 92% of participating experts reported productivity gains.

Georgia’s Department of Revenue reduced the digitisation of a tax form from as much as two weeks to 15 minutes. North Carolina’s Department of State Treasurer used ChatGPT to identify millions of dollars in potential unclaimed property, while Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory used it to speed development of a preliminary fusion-research model from months to hours.

Controls and adoption support are part of the offer

OpenAI will provide buyer guidance, usage estimates, spend controls, onboarding, FinOps guidance, webinars and an expanded Government Academy. It also states that ChatGPT Enterprise does not use business data, including inputs and outputs, to train or improve OpenAI models, while participating organisations retain the protections associated with their chosen eligible services.

For public-sector teams, the business implication is to pair the lower pricing with a defined adoption plan: identify suitable workflows, set spending controls, select the required service protections and train staff before extending access more broadly.