Google Undercuts Rivals with 47-Cent AI Deal for US Government Agencies

Google undercuts rivals with 47¢ AI deal for Uncle Sam

It's now safe to say the gang's all here when it comes to big generative AI model makers signing dollar discount deals with Uncle Sam. Google has joined Anthropic and OpenAI, inking questionable short-term discount terms for government agencies. Not to be outdone by the makers of ChatGPT and Claude, who each agreed to sell their services to the government for $1 per agency, Google has agreed to even deeper discount terms, pitching its various government-capable AI products for just $0.47 per agency, valid through 2026. The half-a-buck Google AI deal is part of the General Services Administration's OneGov purchasing strategy that seeks to streamline the purchasing of products for federal agencies. Agencies looking to add some Google Gemini AI to their operations, for instance, won't need to establish new terms with Google under the $0.47 deal. Instead, they simply agree to terms previously negotiated on behalf of the whole federal government by the GSA. And like the other recent discount AI deals announced by GSA as part of its OneGov contracting initiative, Google's also expires after a year. Agencies that sign up for discounted services today and become dependent on them have no way of knowing what comes after the discount period ends. Google told us that even though it is not sure, with a spokesperson only saying that it would explore options toward the end of the discount period. As we pointed out in another OneGov story, these deals open the possibility of a new generation of vendor lock-in. Any particular brand of AI could quickly become indispensable to an agency's workload before anyone knows what the long-term cost is. That's part of the reason both prior AI OneGov deals with OpenAI and Anthropic have been challenged by AI firm Ask Sage and its founder, former Air Force and Space Force Chief Software Officer Nicolas Chaillan. Ask Sage's bid protests, copies of which have been viewed by The Register, argue that the discounts could lead to vendor lock-in in violation of the government's Federal Acquisition Regulation, as well as violating requirements pertaining to commercial pricing and competition. Ask Sage, we note, provides a vendor-agnostic AI platform for government agencies and is protesting the bid as an interested party. Chaillan told The Register of a number of other concerns he has about the OneGov contracts that we're still looking into, including the fact that the contracts with OpenAI and Anthropic are still private despite his asking as part of the bid protest process. Timely bid protests are grounds to halt an award, but Government Accountability Office dockets for the protest do not indicate whether that criterion has been met with regard to the OpenAI and Anthropic deals. "The $1 deal was already far outside the bounds of what could reasonably sustain secure, enterprise-grade AI for government," Chaillan told us in an emailed statement. "Google's 47-cent offer takes that even further. Pricing this low is not about serving agencies -- it's about forcing dependence on a single vendor, hiding future costs, and squeezing out fair competition. What looks cheap today will leave the government with higher costs, fewer options, and greater risk tomorrow." To add some additional concern to the Google Gemini deal, it won't just come with the typical government-certified AI services, agentic bots, research tools and the like. The GSA took the time to spell out that government agencies were also getting "video and image generation capabilities" as part of the deal, if that's the sort of thing that concerns you. The GSA didn't respond to questions before publication. ®

Google is selling a version of Gemini for government agencies

Google has announced plans to sell a custom version of its Gemini AI models for government agencies. "Gemini for Government" includes access to existing tools like NotebookLM, and "Google-quality enterprise search, video and image generation capabilities." The AI platform is in direct competition with similar offerings from OpenAI, Anthropic and xAI. A big focus of Google's pitch for Gemini for Government is the idea of automating administrative tasks with AI agents. The company touts pre-built Deep Research and Idea Generation agents that will be available to government agencies from the jump, but anyone who invests in the new AI platform will also get the ability to build custom agents of their own. Gemini for Government will also offer threat protection and data privacy features, and will be compliant with cloud security standards like Sec4 and FedRAMP. Google's offering its AI platform for $0.50 per year for government agencies, with the option to pay more for extra security features. The low price is as much an enticement as it is a jab at OpenAI and Anthropic, who both announced $1 government AI deals in the last few months. These attempts to become government AI contractors are happening in the shadow of the AI Action Plan President Donald Trump announced in July. The Trump administration's stated goal is to spur development, turn AI into an American export and remove "idealogical bias" from AI models, but the specifics of the plan are concerningly open to interpretation. Trump's proposal asks federal agencies to withhold "AI-related" funding from states with "burdensome" AI regulations. It also directs the Federal Communications Commission to assume a role in regulating AI, placing even more theoretical power in the executive branch.

Google to provide Gemini AI tools to US government

Google will provide its Gemini artificial intelligence tools to US federal agencies practically free, the government announced Thursday. A suite of AI and cloud computing services called "Gemini for Government" from Google is intended to speed the adoption of the technology across the US government, the General Services Administration (GSA) said in a joint statement. "Gemini for Government gives federal agencies access to our full stack approach to AI innovation," added Google chief executive Sundar Pichai. "So they can deliver on their important missions." AI tools being provided include generation of video, images, or ideas as well as digital "agents" capable of independently tending to complex tasks. US agencies will pay a scant fee of less than a dollar for the AI tools, building on a previous agreement that saw Google Workspace software provided to the government at a major price discount, according to the GSA. "Federal agencies can now significantly transform their operations by using the tools in Gemini for Government," said GSA acting administrator Michael Rigas. The deal comes just weeks after Google rival OpenAI said it was letting the US government use a version of ChatGPT designed for businesses for a year for just $1. "By giving government employees access to powerful, secure AI tools, we can help them solve problems for more people, faster," OpenAI said in a blog post announcing the alliance. Earlier this year, the US Department of Defense awarded OpenAI a $200 million contract to put generative AI to work for the military. OpenAI planned to show how cutting-edge AI can improve administrative operations, such as how service members get health care, and also has cyber defense applications, the startup said in a post.

Google to provide Gemini AI tools to US government

San Francisco (United States) (AFP) - Google will provide its Gemini artificial intelligence tools to US federal agencies practically free, the government announced Thursday. A suite of AI and cloud computing services called "Gemini for Government" from Google is intended to speed the adoption of the technology across the US government, the General Services Administration (GSA) said in a joint statement. "Gemini for Government gives federal agencies access to our full stack approach to AI innovation," added Google chief executive Sundar Pichai. "So they can deliver on their important missions." AI tools being provided include generation of video, images, or ideas as well as digital "agents" capable of independently tending to complex tasks. US agencies will pay a scant fee of less than a dollar for the AI tools, building on a previous agreement that saw Google Workspace software provided to the government at a major price discount, according to the GSA. "Federal agencies can now significantly transform their operations by using the tools in Gemini for Government," said GSA acting administrator Michael Rigas. The deal comes just weeks after Google rival OpenAI said it was letting the US government use a version of ChatGPT designed for businesses for a year for just $1. "By giving government employees access to powerful, secure AI tools, we can help them solve problems for more people, faster," OpenAI said in a blog post announcing the alliance. Earlier this year, the US Department of Defense awarded OpenAI a $200 million contract to put generative AI to work for the military. OpenAI planned to show how cutting-edge AI can improve administrative operations, such as how service members get health care, and also has cyber defense applications, the startup said in a post.

Google to provide Gemini AI tools to federal agencies for 47 cents

Google will provide a suite of artificial intelligence (AI) and cloud services to federal agencies for 47 cents each, the General Services Administration (GSA) announced Thursday. Federal agencies will have access to Gemini for Government at the discounted price through 2026. The announcement follows similar moves by OpenAI and Anthropic to offer their AI products to the government for $1 a year. "Federal agencies can now significantly transform their operations by using the tools in 'Gemini for Government', thanks to this agreement with Google and the Trump Administration's leadership revolutionizing AI for the U.S. government," acting GSA administrator Michael Rigas said in a statement. The agency added Google's Gemini, OpenAI's ChatGPT and Anthropic's Claude to its government purchasing system earlier this month, opening up the AI models for purchase and use by federal agencies. xAI's Grok was also added to the purchasing schedule in July. The push to make these models accessible comes after President Trump unveiled his AI Action Plan last month, calling to accelerate the technology's adoption in the federal government. Google and GSA previously reached an agreement in April to offer the tech giant's Workspace tools to agencies at a 71 percent discount. "Building on our Workspace offer for federal employees, Gemini for Government gives federal agencies access to our full stack approach to AI innovation, including tools like NotebookLM and Veo powered by our latest models and our secure cloud infrastructure, so they can deliver on their important missions," Google CEO Sundar Pichai said in a statement.

Google to offer Gemini to US agencies at $0.50 per agency a year - The Economic Times

Google has launched Gemini for Government, joining OpenAI and Anthropic in offering AI services to US federal agencies at minimal cost. Priced under $0.50 per agency annually, this partnership with the GSA provides access to Google's AI tools like NotebookLM and Veo. This move supports the GSA's OneGov Strategy and the President's AI Action Plan.Tech giant Google has joined OpenAI and Anthropic in the list of artificial intelligence (AI) companies offering their products and services to US federal agencies at a minimal or zero cost. Google chief executive Sundar Pichai confirmed the launch of Gemini for Government on microblogging site X, on Thursday. The partnership with the General Services Administration (GSA) allows the US government to gain access to Google's AI offerings , including NotebookLM and Veo. Priced at less than $0.50 per government agency for a year, Google extended support to the next phase of the GSA's OneGov Strategy and President Trump's AI Action Plan. Earlier this month, OpenAI said it will offer its products and services to US government agencies "at essentially no cost". Before that Anthropic's Claude got listed on the GSA schedule making its products readily accessible to US federal government departments.

Google to provide Gemini AI tools to U.S. government

Google will provide its Gemini artificial intelligence tools to U.S. federal agencies practically free, the government announced Thursday. A suite of AI and cloud computing services called "Gemini for Government" from Google is intended to speed the adoption of the technology across the U.S. government, the General Services Administration (GSA) said in a joint statement. "Gemini for Government gives federal agencies access to our full stack approach to AI innovation," added Google chief executive Sundar Pichai. "So they can deliver on their important missions." AI tools being provided include generation of video, images, or ideas as well as digital "agents" capable of independently tending to complex tasks. U.S. agencies will pay a scant fee of less than a dollar for the AI tools, building on a previous agreement that saw Google Workspace software provided to the government at a major price discount, according to the GSA. "Federal agencies can now significantly transform their operations by using the tools in Gemini for Government," said GSA acting administrator Michael Rigas. The deal comes just weeks after Google rival OpenAI said it was letting the U.S. government use a version of ChatGPT designed for businesses for a year for just $1. "By giving government employees access to powerful, secure AI tools, we can help them solve problems for more people, faster," OpenAI said in a blog post announcing the alliance. Earlier this year, the U.S. Department of Defense awarded OpenAI a US$200 million contract to put generative AI to work for the military. OpenAI planned to show how cutting-edge AI can improve administrative operations, such as how service members get health care, and also has cyber defense applications, the startup said in a post.