- Federal procurement officials have revealed how they are adjusting to the rapid advancement of artificial intelligence tools
- The remarks came from officials from the Department of Transportation, General Services Administration and NASA
- The GSA said it is leveraging its OneGov Strategy to help lower AI product prices
The U.S. government’s conventional approach to buying technology is struggling to keep up with how quickly artificial intelligence tools are advancing, prompting agencies to look for faster and more flexible acquisition paths, according to a GovCIO Media & Research article citing federal leaders’ remarks at a forum on Thursday.
Among the officials sharing their insights were Anil Chaudhry, senior advisor for AI, autonomy and national security at the Department of Transportation; Birgit Smeltzer, director of the Office of IT Products at the General Services Administration Federal Acquisition Service; and Geoffrey Sage, director of the enterprise service and analysis division in NASA’s Office of Procurement.
The 2026 FedCiv Summit will convene senior federal civilian leaders and industry executives on October 29 to examine how AI adoption, infrastructure investment and evolving mission priorities are impacting the civilian government market. Be one of the attendees to gain firsthand insight into agency priorities and the strategic opportunities emerging across the federal civilian landscape.
How Is the Transportation Department Shifting AI Acquisition Practices?
The Transportation Department’s Anil Chaudhry said that acquiring AI capabilities bears little resemblance to procuring conventional hardware or even cloud services. He pointed to the pace of change in the AI sector as a core challenge, noting that model capabilities are roughly doubling every seven months.
Given that reality, along with the scale and intricacy of federal IT contracting rules, Chaudhry said government-wide acquisition vehicles offer agencies a more efficient route to emerging technology and inject a measure of predictability into an otherwise unpredictable process. Leaning on a shared contract, he explained, lets his team focus on individual task orders and negotiate fixed-price arrangements with industry in short, six-month increments.
How Is GSA’s OneGov Strategy Aiding AI Procurement?
At the General Services Administration, a key tool for simplifying how agencies acquire AI is the OneGov strategy. GSA OITP Director Birgit Smeltzer said that the initiative pools agencies’ buying power to negotiate discounted, enterprise-wide deals directly with technology manufacturers on software, cloud and AI products.
According to Smeltzer, OneGov has generated roughly $1.6 billion in government savings to date, with about $1.4 billion of that tied to short-term AI pricing deals. She noted the real total could be higher, since some agencies have used OneGov-negotiated rates as leverage in separate contracts outside GSA’s purview.
Because many of these AI pricing deals are time-limited, GSA is coordinating with vendors to renew existing agreements or establish new ones. Smeltzer said the agency is focused on identifying arrangements that serve agency needs, including offers that may not have gained traction previously.
How Has AI Improved NASA’s Procurement Practices?
AI integration is being implemented cautiously and incrementally into the contracting functions at NASA. NASA ESAD Director Geoffrey Sage said that recent workforce reductions have strained NASA’s contracting staff, making AI tools more valuable in helping the office keep pace.
The agency has been enforcing security and operational safeguards as it introduces AI support for early-stage activities such as market research and requirements development. He said the effort is already helping speed up the contracting process, freeing NASA’s technical staff to move more quickly from research to writing solid requirements.
