Pentagon Adds ChatGPT and Grok to Its Secure AI Portal

The Pentagon is expanding its use of generative AI, giving millions of U.S. Department of Defense personnel access to government-tailored versions of OpenAI’s ChatGPT and xAI’s Grok.

The new tools, ChatGPT Mil and Grok for Government, are now available through GenAI.mil, the Department of Defense’s centralized and secure portal for generative AI tools. The platform was launched last year and initially included Google Gemini.

GenAI.mil is designed to give military and civilian personnel access to commercial frontier AI models while keeping sensitive government information away from ordinary consumer AI services. The military versions also avoid the type of data collection that can be difficult to opt out of when using consumer technology.

The program is already being used on a large scale. According to the Department of Defense, more than 1.7 million unique users have joined GenAI.mil out of roughly 3 million civilian and military personnel across the department.

ChatGPT gets a military-focused version

ChatGPT Mil comes from OpenAI’s OpenAI for Government program and is designed to provide an experience that will feel familiar to people who already use commercial ChatGPT.

According to the Defense Department, the tool will support features including chat, file handling, projects and custom GPTs.

Its initial focus will include routine, document-heavy work that does not involve classified information. Potential uses include administrative tasks, logistics, planning and policy-related work. The Pentagon said additional capabilities will be introduced over time.

The addition is part of a broader effort to use AI to speed up everyday work across the Department of Defense while maintaining security requirements.

Grok takes a more operational approach

The Pentagon’s description of Grok for Government is more directly focused on military and operational applications.

The Defense Department said the tool is intended to provide warfighters with productivity improvements, better knowledge continuity and more secure collaboration.

The department also said Grok could help military personnel complete missions more quickly and accurately across a range of situations.

Potential applications extend beyond direct military operations. For example, acquisition professionals could use the technology for market research analysis, while logisticians could use it for supply-chain management.

Grok for Government is being provided through Starshield AI, SpaceX’s secure satellite network, which uses technology based on the company’s existing Starlink system.

Anthropic’s Claude is notably absent

The Pentagon’s decision to add ChatGPT and Grok also comes amid its ongoing dispute with Anthropic, the company behind Claude.

Anthropic was labeled a supply-chain risk by the Trump administration after the company declined to give the Pentagon unrestricted access to its AI systems and instead sought to maintain certain safety guardrails. Anthropic is currently challenging that designation in court.

The absence of Claude from the latest GenAI.mil expansion highlights the Pentagon’s push to work with other AI companies as it expands its use of commercial technology.

Pentagon builds a wider AI network

OpenAI and xAI are not the only technology companies working with the Department of Defense on AI-related initiatives.

The Pentagon has also reached agreements with several other major technology companies, including Amazon Web Services, Microsoft, Nvidia and Reflection AI, as it works to strengthen its artificial intelligence capabilities.

With more than half of the department’s personnel already having used GenAI.mil, the Pentagon’s latest additions show how quickly generative AI is becoming part of everyday government and military workflows.

The larger goal is to bring advanced commercial AI into defense operations while maintaining tighter controls over how government information is accessed and handled.

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