Agencies are missing a step to share information on better AI acquisition, GAO finds

A new oversight report that sampled four federal agencies underscored several hindrances to effective AI adoption, including a lack of policies for collecting lessons learned in the technology’s acquisition.

Agencies need to do more to share lessons learned in the artificial intelligence acquisition process to cultivate a smarter buying environment, according to a Monday report from the Government Accountability Office.

The report noted that, despite AI use cases across federal agencies more than doubling from 2023 to 2024, the procurement and acquisition process isn’t seamless. After connecting with acquisition leaders within four agencies — the Department of Defense, the Department of Homeland Security, the General Services Administration and the Department of Veterans Affairs — the GAO recommended that agencies make several policy updates that address individual challenges in buying AI tools. 

“We talked with many agency officials about challenges acquiring AI,” the report’s authors wrote. “For example, some said ...