GAO Issues Report on Generative AI Use and Management at Federal Agencies
Summary
On July 29, 2025, the U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) released its report on Generative AI Use and Management at Federal Agencies. The report finds that the use of artificial intelligence (AI) is experiencing rapid growth, particularly the use of generative AI. The number of reported AI use cases—across 11 selected agencies—nearly doubled from 2023 to 2024, with generative AI use cases increasing nine-fold. This expansion is driven by the potential benefits that generative AI offers across various government functions, such as streamlining processes and services, improving communication, making data retrieval more efficient, enhancing citizen engagement and improving public health outcomes. This accelerated adoption, however, also brings significant challenges, such as complying with existing federal policies and guidance, having sufficient technical resources and budget, avoiding biased outputs and hallucinations, prioritizing transparency in AI tools and securing classified or sensitive data. The report discusses these benefits and challenges, as well as efforts across the agencies to respond to these challenges by leveraging existing frameworks, updating guidance and taking actions to safeguard data.
