Accelerating government AI adoption with USAi

About GSA

The U.S. General Services Administration (GSA) is an independent government agency responsible for providing the infrastructure, technology, and services that help federal agencies operate efficiently. USAi is a collaborative effort across multiple GSA departments, including the Technology Transformation Services and GSA Information Technology. Together, the team built an AI platform designed to help federal agencies and contractors use AI tools safely and effectively.

The challenge

Between 2023 and 2025, federal agencies more than doubled their use of artificial intelligence (AI) (CIO.gov report, January 2025). While employees wanted to improve workflows using AI, security, compliance, and technical barriers made adoption difficult. Commercial AI solutions raised data and control concerns, highlighting the need for a government-managed platform. Early GSA prototypes, including a generative AI chatbot tool, revealed that employees needed conversational AI tools, APIs to integrate AI into workflows, and (for managers) to understand usage across their organization. This created an opportunity to build a comprehensive & trusted AI platform that could be scaled and shared across federal agencies.

The approach

Human-centered research: A Product Management Fellow and Engineering Fellow focused on USAi Chat, working closely with other USAi product teams. To understand employee needs, the team collaborated with designers and evaluators who helped analyze usage data, survey responses, user interviews, and user feedback. This hands-on engagement helped the team identify pain points and feature priorities, ensuring the platform addressed both current and emerging needs.

Product development: The Product Management Fellow led the Chat roadmap, translating user insights into prioritized features, coordinating closely with the other USAi product teams for platform integration, and guiding the team to evolve the prototype into a launched product. The Engineering Fellow stabilized and improved the existing codebase, added accessibility features, and collaborated with API and Console engineers to ensure seamless integration across the platform. The team also embedded government compliance and safety measures, including:

• Role-based access and privacy protections
• System prompts and guardrails for safe AI use
• Documentation and workflows needed for Authority to Operate (ATO) approval

Launching as a shared service: USAi launched as a six-month trial in August 2025, starting with business development calls, demos, onboarding, and Memorandums of Understanding (MOUs) with partner agencies. The team set up dedicated environments for partner agencies, working closely with their points of contact to ensure the platform was ready for use.

The impact

Throughout the project, federal agencies reported meaningful improvements in efficiency and workflow:

• “For a small agency like us, it would not be possible for us to have these kinds of capabilities without you.”
• “It makes my work leaner and quicker, so I can focus on more important things.”
• “It’s a productivity modifier that helps us balance our workloads.”

USAi Chat provides a secure, flexible AI service that supports federal agencies in performing routine tasks more efficiently. The platform also serves as a government-owned foundation for AI capabilities, giving agencies a trusted, scalable alternative to commercial solutions.