Elon Musk's DOGE Develops Custom AI Chatbot for US Government Efficiency
Elon Musk's Department of Government Efficiency is developing a custom AI chatbot, GSAi, for the US General Services Administration to improve productivity and analyze contract data amidst ongoing government technology changes.
Elon Musk's Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) is dedicated to rapidly developing "GSAi," a custom generative AI chatbot for the US General Services Administration (GSA). This initiative aligns with President Donald Trump's AI-first agenda aimed at modernizing the federal government using advanced technology.
The objective is to enhance the daily productivity of GSA's approximately 12,000 employees, who manage office buildings, contracts, and IT infrastructure across the federal government. Furthermore, Musk's team plans to leverage the chatbot to analyze extensive contract and procurement data, as suggested by two anonymous sources familiar with the project.
During a recent meeting, Thomas Shedd, who leads Technology Transformation Services for the GSA and previously worked at Tesla, hinted at the project. He stated, "Another [project] I'm trying to work on is a centralized place for contracts so we can run analysis on them." Shedd emphasized that while this project isn't new, the approach may involve constructing the entire system in-house more rapidly.
The decision to create a custom chatbot follows GSA discussions with Google regarding its Gemini offering.
While AI chatbots like ChatGPT and Gemini have gained traction in corporate America, the Biden administration's executive orders have generally advised government personnel to proceed cautiously with emerging technologies. In contrast, President Trump has urged his administration to eliminate obstacles to achieving "global AI dominance." Heeding this, Musk's team has promptly integrated more AI tools into government operations.
Overall, the Trump administration is seen as initiating a significant upheaval within the federal bureaucracy. Supporters praise these changes; however, critics, including federal employees, labor unions, and Democrats in Congress, have raised concerns about potential constitutional issues. Though DOGE has not publicly revised its stance, it has discreetly paused the rollout of at least one generative AI tool, as reported by two sources.
The White House has not yet responded to requests for comment.
