Federal agencies reported more than 3,600 artificial intelligence use cases in 2025, marking a sharp acceleration in adoption as agencies expand AI in a multitude of mission and enterprise operations, Nextgov/FCW reported Thursday.
The Office of Management and Budget’s latest Federal Agency AI Use Case Inventory documents 3,611 use cases across 56 agencies, more than doubling the prior year’s total and underscoring how quickly AI is being embedded into government workflows.
Register now for the Potomac Officers Club’s 2026 Digital Transformation Summit on April 22. The event will spotlight the growing role of artificial intelligence in federal agencies and feature high-level discussions on how AI is scaling from pilot programs to mission-critical applications.
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How Fast Is Federal AI Adoption Growing?
The 2025 inventory reflects a significant jump from roughly 2,133 use cases across 41 agencies in 2024, driven by both expanded reporting and broader deployment of AI tools throughout agencies.
OMB streamlined reporting requirements in 2025 and introduced a new category for widely used commercial AI tools, allowing agencies to focus individual reporting on more mission-specific and high-impact applications.
At the same time, agencies moved more use cases into operational environments, with over 1,800 systems reported as deployed or piloted last year.
Which Agencies Are Driving AI Use?
Adoption remains concentrated among large mission agencies, particularly those managing health, science and national-scale operations.
The Department of Health and Human Services reported the highest number of use cases, followed by NASA, the Department of Veterans Affairs, the Department of Energy and the Department of Justice.
The Veterans Affairs Department stands out for its concentration of high-impact AI, reporting more than 200 such use cases — far exceeding other agencies.
What Are Agencies Using AI For?
Agencies reported similar core applications in both years, but at a greater scale and maturity in 2025.
Common use cases include:
- Text analysis, summarization and document processing
- Data analytics and pattern recognition
- Predictive modeling
- Chatbots and customer service automation
More advanced and mission-specific uses are also emerging, including:
- Clinical data summarization and health analytics
- Behavioral anomaly detection in cybersecurity
- Satellite and science data processing
- Identity verification
How Is Policy Shaping AI Adoption?
The rapid growth aligns with updated federal policy aimed at accelerating AI use while strengthening governance.
OMB’s April 2025 guidance directs agencies to expand AI adoption for lower-risk use cases, establish oversight for high-impact systems, conduct AI maturity assessments and improve acquisition practices to avoid vendor lock-in.
The policy also encourages agencies to adopt commercially available tools more efficiently.
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