Now it’s safe to say that the gang is all together when it comes to signing dollar discount deals for Uncle Sam with big generative AI models makers. Google has joined Anthropic in signing short-term discount deals for government agencies.
Not wanting to be outdone, Google has agreed to even deeper discounts, offering its government-capable AI product for only $0.47 per agency. This offer is valid until 2026.
This half-dollar Google AI deal is part the General Services Administration’s OneGov purchasing strategy, which aims to streamline federal agency purchases. The $0.47 deal will allow agencies to add Google Gemini AI into their operations without having to negotiate new terms with Google. They simply accept the terms that were previously negotiated by the GSA on behalf of the entire federal government.
Like the other recent discounts AI deals announced by GSA in its OneGov contracting program, Google’s expires after one year. The agencies that sign up today for discounted services and become dependent on those services have no idea what will happen after the discount period is over. Google confirmed that, even though it was not sure. A spokesperson said that it would only explore options towards the end of discount period.
We pointed out in a previous OneGov article that these deals could lead to a new type of vendor lock-in. Before anyone knew the true cost, a particular brand of AI might quickly become indispensable for an agency’s work. Box’s AI agents will help US government agencies
Ask Sage’s bid protests have been viewed by The Register[19459039UncleSamaskstheindustryiftheyhaveAIthatwillmakeprocurementeasier[19459039UncleSamaskstheindustryiftheyhaveAIthatwillmakeprocurementeasier
- Box’s AI agents are set to help US Government agencies
- Uncle Sam launches AI Sandbox for government use and says it won’t last long
- Uncle Sam announces a new AI sandbox, but it’s not for long
- GSA signs another $1 OneGov vendor agreement, this time with Anthropic. We note that Ask Sage provides a vendor-agnostic AI for government agencies, and is protesting this bid as an interested third party.
Chaillan informed The Register ofa number other concerns he had about the OneGov contract that we’re still investigating, including the fact the contracts with OpenAI and Anthropicare still private despite the fact he asked as part of bid protest process. The Registerhas a criterion for halting an award if a bid protest is made in ‘good time’. However, the dockets of the Government Accountability Office do not indicate if this criterion was met with regards to the OpenAI/Anthropic contracts.
“The $1 deal was already far outside the bounds of what could reasonably sustain secure, enterprise-grade AI for government,” Chaillan informed us via email. “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.”
The Google Gemini deal will not only include the usual government-certified AI services and tools, such as agentic bots and research tools. If this is something that worries you, the GSA took time to explain that government agencies would also receive “video and image generation capabilities” in the deal.
Before publication, the GSA did not respond to any questions. (r)
