Trump admin to use Elon Musk's Grok chatbot for government business
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Grok logo alongside Elon Musk. Photo: Didem Mente/Anadolu via Getty Images.
The Trump administration has approved Elon Musk's artificial intelligence chatbot Grok for official government use for every agency, according to the General Services Administration.
Why it matters: The chatbot has faced criticism for being ideologically biased and lacking proper safety testing.
Driving the news: "Thanks to President Trump and his administration, xAI's frontier AI is now unlocked for every federal agency," xAI cofounder and CEO Elon Musk said in a press release announcing the move.
- Federal Acquisition Service commissioner Josh Gruenbaum said adopting Grok is "essential to building the efficient, accountable government that taxpayers deserve—and to fulfilling President Trump's promise that America will win the global AI race."
State of play: A coalition of over 30 consumer-focused groups in August called on Office of Management and Budget Director Russell Vought to block Grok from being authorized for government business.
- The group said that Grok was unfit for government use because it doesn't align with Trump's AI Action plan, which requires federal AI systems to be objective and be "neutral, nonpartisan tools that do not manipulate responses in favor of ideological dogmas.'"
- Grok has faced criticism multiple times this year, including for adding comments about a "white genocide" in South Africa in unrelated conversations and antisemitic memes.
- Last year, it was caught spreading election misinformation during the 2024 campaign.
Zoom in: Grok will be available for $0.42 per organization for 18 months, the longest contract for a OneGov AI agreement thus far.
- xAI will also be providing the government with a dedicated engineering team to provide support and ensure "mission success."
Zoom out: The Trump administration launched the OneGov Strategy in April to integrate AI tools into the government's workflow.
- Trump's AI Action plan bolstered the strategy, allowing xAI and other companies such as Meta, Google and OpenAi to secure lucrative contracts with the government.
Go deeper: Exclusive: Civil rights groups urge agencies to drop Grok
