What federal buyers need to succeed with AI-enabled procurement

The U.S. Capitol building is seen from Freedom Plaza during the 20th day of the ongoing federal government shutdown in Washington, D.C., United States, on October 20, 2025. Anadolu / Getty Images

For five years, the federal government has been under a legal mandate to train acquisition professionals in using and buying artificial intelligence (AI). During that time, federal spending on AI has risen precipitously. As AI technology accelerates into the future, buying relevant, rapidly evolving capabilities requires foresight and understanding. Eighty percent of chief procurement officers (CPOs) surveyed plan to deploy AI tools for spend analytics, contract management and supplier selection over the next three years. Leaders are expecting that procurement operations will be radically better and faster than they are today.

Anticipating this, the 2022 Artificial Intelligence Training for the Acquisition Workforce Act requires the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) to provide AI training for procurement ...