GSA, NIST partner to craft evaluation standards for AI tools in federal operations
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Through the Center for AI Standards and Innovation, both agencies will help streamline the process to develop standards for artificial intelligence tools being used in government workflows.
Two federal agencies are joining forces to bring to life a new joint effort that will strengthen the federal government’s evaluation process for artificial intelligence models and services.
The General Services Administration and the National Institute of Standards and Technology unveiled a new partnership on Wednesday to develop clear, consistent methods to test and measure how well AI systems work before agencies apply them to real-life missions. GSA said this work would help bolster its USAi.gov site, which provides a platform for agencies to experiment with and onboard AI tools.
By offering a standardized approach to understanding a given AI model’s efficacy, the partnership — based in NIST’s Center for AI Standards and Innovation — will ideally help incorporate AI quickly into federal workflows.
“We're at a pivotal time in the AI revolution and this partnership between CAISI and GSA will enable federal agencies to adopt AI in ways that help the American people,” Deputy Under Secretary of Commerce for Standards and Technology and Acting NIST Director Craig Burkhardt said in a press release. “We are excited to help advance AI in support of the Trump Administration’s vision for innovation.”
The partnership will support previous Trump administration AI endeavors, such as the July 2025 AI Action Plan, which featured CAISI prominently in helping craft new AI policy and initiatives. Subjects that the partnership will focus on are developing common benchmarks for evaluating AI models and conducting hands-on research with federal workers. Additionally, NIST and GSA will develop resources like guidelines and checklists for fellow agencies to use when onboarding AI systems.
Other desired outcomes and benefits from today’s partnership include a reduction in duplicative efforts to move pilots to deployment.
“This partnership gives agencies the tools they need to adopt AI with confidence and advances President Trump’s vision for U.S. leadership in the global AI race,” said GSA Administrator Edward Forst. “By combining GSA’s government-wide reach with NIST’s AI evaluation expertise, we’re strengthening how the federal government deploys AI.”
Both agencies have been key in bringing AI software to the government, as well as studying how to measure it. GSA launched its OneGov marketplace strategy in April 2025 to offer agencies access to leading AI models at competitive prices. In early March, Arvind Raman, President Donald Trump’s nominee to lead NIST, underscored his commitment to having the agency focus on creating and democratizing global tech standards during his confirmation hearing.