Senate officially approves ChatGPT, Gemini, and Copilot for aides' daily work

Google's Gemini, OpenAI's ChatGPT, or Microsoft Copilot Are Coming to the Senate

Senate aides are now allowed to use AI chatbots like Google's Gemini, OpenAI's ChatGPT, or Microsoft Copilot to help with their work. In a memo to staff seen by The New York Times, aides were given permission to use Copilot to "help with routine Senate work, including drafting and editing documents, summarizing information, preparing talking points and briefing material, and conducting research and analysis." The memo omitted mention of Anthropic's Claude, one of the world's most popular chatbots, which is currently under fire from the Trump administration, with the President calling the AI firm "left-wing nut jobs" in a Truth Social post. The House allowed its aides to use tools like ChatGPT, Copilot, Gemini, and Claude for their work, according to a POPVOX Foundation report from last year. However, there are restrictions on sensitive use cases, such as handling sensitive data or drafting speeches. Questions still remain about whether aides using the chatbots will be allowed to work with sensitive data. Spokespeople from both the Democrats and the Republicans on the Senate Intelligence Committee did not respond to the NYT's inquiry about the policies which are in place around using AI chatbots for committee work. Though this may be the first time Senate aides have received official approval to use tools like ChatGPT in their work, there is a good chance it won't be the first time they've used them for Senate-related tasks. An investigation from Business Insider last year revealed that 'dozens' of Capitol Hill lawmakers had given their staffers permission to use AI tools, including Democratic Sen. Chris Murphy of Connecticut. Democratic Sen. Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts said, 'I don't have a problem with my staffers using ChatGPT as one of their tools.' It wouldn't exactly be surprising if chatbots have already been used unofficially by government staffers. Researchers have highlighted how many white-collar industries have been hit with an epidemic of 'workslop', with unauthorized AI use abounding in industries like IT and professional services in particular.

ChatGPT, Other Chatbots Approved for Official Use in the Senate

New guidelines said Senate aides could use A.I. tools for official work, including research, drafting and editing documents, and preparing briefings and talking points for lawmakers. A top Senate administrator on Monday gave aides the green light to use three artificial intelligence chatbots for official work, a reflection of how widespread the use of the products has become in workplaces around the globe. The chief information officer for the Senate sergeant-at-arms, who oversees the chamber's computers as well as security, said in a one-page memo reviewed by The New York Times that aides could use Google's Gemini chat, OpenAI's ChatGPT or Microsoft Copilot, which is already integrated into Senate platforms. Copilot "can help with routine Senate work, including drafting and editing documents, summarizing information, preparing talking points and briefing material, and conducting research and analysis," the memo said. The document later added that "data shared with Copilot Chat stays within the secure Microsoft 365 Government environment and is protected by the same controls that safeguard other Senate data." It was unclear how widespread usage of the chatbots might become in the Senate -- or how widespread it already is. Senate offices and committees often operate as their own domains, with senators and committee chairs dictating their own rules for staff to follow, and the chamber has not made its rules of the road for A.I. usage public. That leaves open the question of how staffers who deal with sensitive or classified information might be asked to approach use of the products. Committee aides with security clearances who work with classified information are governed by strict protocols. A spokesman for Republicans on the Senate Intelligence Committee did not immediately respond to an inquiry about policies in place for using A.I. chatbots for committee work. A spokeswoman for Democrats on the Senate Intelligence Committee declined to comment, citing security reasons. Aides for the Senate sergeant-at-arms also did not immediately respond to a request for comment about whether the office has provided committees with more specific guidance. Staff aides in the House have been permitted to use Copilot, Gemini and ChatGPT, as well as Anthropic's Claude, according to POPVOX Foundation, a nonpartisan nonprofit organization with a focus on modernizing Congress that said it had reviewed both chambers' internal A.I. guidelines. Under a House policy adopted in September 2024, the foundation reported, A.I. may generally be used for matters that do not involve sensitive information, are for internal consumption and will not be used in major decision-making. But a manager must approve the use of A.I. for more sophisticated things, such as generating constituent correspondence or drafting talking points for a member of Congress. And its use for generating deepfakes is prohibited, as is using a constituent's personal information when performing casework. The Senate policy also advises users not to enter personally identifiable information or physical security information into A.I. tools, according to POPVOX's review.

Here's the Memo Approving Gemini, ChatGPT, and Copilot for Use in the Senate

Copilot "can help with routine Senate work, including drafting and editing documents, summarizing information, preparing talking points and briefing material, and conducting research and analysis," the memo says. A top Senate administrator approved OpenAI's ChatGPT, Google's Gemini, and Microsoft's Copilot for official use in the Senate, the New York Times reported on Tuesday. 404 Media has obtained the full text of the memo and is publishing it below. "The Sergeant at Arms (SAA) office of the Chief Information Officer (CIO) has approved the use of three Generative Artificial Intelligence (AI) platforms with Senate data," the memo starts. It also says the SAA will provide each Senate employee with one free license to either Gemini Chat or ChatGPT Enterprise, with Copilot also available at no cost. The memo says Copilot "can help with routine Senate work, including drafting and editing documents, summarizing information, preparing talking points and briefing material, and conducting research and analysis." As the New York Times wrote, questions remain around how staffers who deal with sensitive or classified information might use the tools. And more broadly, it shows the spread of AI chatbots across government, although how much the Senate will use it in this case is unclear. The full memo reads: The Sergeant at Arms (SAA) office of the Chief Information Officer (CIO) has approved the use of three Generative Artificial Intelligence (AI) platforms with Senate data. Microsoft Copilot Chat is available now for use by all Senate employees at no cost. Google Workspace with Gemini Chat and OpenAI ChatGPT Enterprise also have been approved for use with the assignment of a Senate license. The SAA will provide each Senate employee one Generative AI license at no cost for either Google Workspace with Gemini Chat or OpenAI ChatGPT Enterprise. More information about licensing for those two platforms will be provided by the CIO in the next thirty days. ABOUT COPILOT CHAT Copilot Chat is an AI assistant that is integrated into the Senate's Microsoft 365 environment. It can help with routine Senate work, including drafting and editing documents, summarizing information, preparing talking points and briefing material, and conducting research and analysis. You can access the Copilot Chat web app here or download the Copilot Chat app on your mobile device. You may also see Copilot offered as a sidebar tool within Microsoft applications like Word and Excel. Important Note: Copilot Chat does not have access to any Senate data unless that information is explicitly shared within a prompt. Copilot does not search internal drives, shared folders, email, Teams chats, or any other Senate resources on its own. Copilot Chat operates in Microsoft's secure government cloud and meets federal and Senate cybersecurity requirements. Data shared with Copilot Chat stays within the secure Microsoft 365 Government environment and is protected by the same controls that safeguard other Senate data. To learn more about Copilot Chat, take the Copilot Chat Training. Use of artificial intelligence tools is governed by the Senate AI Policy and applicable officelevel policies. To learn more about Senate AI initiatives, visit the Artificial Intelligence Webster Page.