One of the more useful contributions of GAO’s April 2026 AI acquisitions report (GAO-26-107859) is its taxonomy of the different procurement approaches federal agencies are actually using—not as a policy prescription, but as an empirical account of what agencies have tried, what trade-offs they’ve encountered, and where each approach leaves agencies exposed.

Agency-Directed vs. Vendor-Driven

Some agencies began with a defined requirement and went out to acquire a solution. Others found vendors presenting AI capabilities to them that didn’t correspond to any existing requirement—and accepting those offerings anyway. GSA acquired a facility management software platform that included a chatbot feature the vendor added as a bonus, not in response to any stated requirement. VA awarded a task order for medical software that arrived with embedded AI capabilities.