Imagine walking into a dealership and driving out in a Tesla for the price of a bag of chips. That’s basically the deal the U.S. government just scored.
The General Services Administration (aka the feds’ central purchasing arm) just locked in a wild deal with OpenAI, allowing every participating agency get ChatGPT Enterprise for just $1—for the whole year.
Not a typo. Literally one dollar.
And that’s not all. OpenAI’s loading the trunk with:
60 days of unlimited access to their top-tier models.
A full training package so federal employees actually know what they’re doing
A dedicated community hub where all the AI-curious civil servants can geek out together
Now, keep in mind—Just a day before, Google and Anthropic were also added to the government-approved vendor list. But hey—nobody’s matching this kind of energy. Not yet, anyway.
Basically, OpenAI’s showing up with snacks, vibes, and extra credit—while the others haven’t even RSVP’d.
Now let’s talk about security.
Federal agencies are dead serious about protecting their data—nobody wants sensitive government info sneaking into a model’s training set. So word is, the GSA is taking a “security-first” approach to keep everything locked down.
Whether OpenAI’s solution ends up being on-prem, private cloud, or something else? Still TBD. But everyone’s watching closely.
Also worth noting: this all comes right after Trump dropped his AI executive order banning so-called “woke AI” and requiring “ideological neutrality” in federal contracts. OpenAI hasn’t said how it’s planning to navigate that minefield. But best believe— we’re watching.
Meanwhile, over at Google HQ…
They’re going for your brain. More specifically: how you learn.
Google just rolled out a new Gemini feature called Guided Learning, and it’s giving full AI tutor with infinite patience vibes. It breaks things down step-by-step, drops in diagrams and quizzes, shows YouTube videos—it’s basically the study buddy we all wish we had.
And yep, this comes right after OpenAI’s Study Mode dropped. So clearly? Everyone’s trying to clean up AI’s “homework cheater” rep and rebrand these tools as actual learning companions.
To sweeten the deal, Google’s also giving students in five countries—including the U.S., Japan, Indonesia, Korea, and Brazil—a full year of AI Pro access for free.
That means: Gemini 2.5 Pro. NotebookLM. Deep Research. VEO 3. All of it. For $0.
So what’s the real play here?
Simple: OpenAI’s not selling software. It’s buying trust—and quietly becoming the go-to infrastructure inside government.
At the same time, Google’s locking in Gen Z loyalty.
In short: The race isn’t about who has the coolest chatbot anymore. It’s about who gets there first, who earns the trust, who gets embedded in the way people work, learn, and live.
And right now? OpenAI is shaking hands in Washington. Google’s pulling up with flashcards. Anthropic’s… well who knows what they’re cooking up.
