Five questions to ask before you pick an AI platform.
GovAI is the AI work platform for local government.
Take one public records request. Where does the work happen? Who can see it later? Who keeps the process working when the retention schedule changes? Here is how GovAI, the tools you may already pay for, an in-house build, and waiting compare.
The questions
Ask every vendor the same five things.
General AI tools write well. The differences show up in the work around the answer: who controls it, what gets recorded, whose rules it follows, and who keeps it running.
- 01 Is government work on a system IT controls? Or is it on personal accounts nobody can see?
- 02 Can you show how a FOIA response or packet was produced, months later? Who asked, what was used, and what left the system.
- 03 Does it answer from your bylaws and current policy? Or from general training data?
- 04 When a rule changes, whose job is it to fix the workflow? Yours, a consultant’s, or the vendor’s.
- 05 What does it cost to get the job done? Licenses plus the staff hours to build, test, and rebuild.
Scorecard
Every option, scored the same way.
Paid plans get credit for the controls they include. A half circle means the capability exists, but your team has to set it up, build it, or buy a higher plan. Pick one option to see the detail side by side.
- Built in from day one
- Possible with setup, a build, or a higher plan
- Not covered
| Question | GovAI | Microsoft Copilot | ChatGPT | Claude | Gemini | Build it yourself | Waiting |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Where does the work happen, and who controls it? | Built in | Needs setup | Needs setup | Needs setup | Needs setup | Needs setup | Not covered |
| Can you show who did what, months later? | Built in | Needs setup | Needs setup | Needs setup | Needs setup | Needs setup | Not covered |
| Does it know your bylaws, your exemptions, and which policy is current? | Built in | Needs setup | Needs setup | Needs setup | Needs setup | Needs setup | Not covered |
| When a rule changes, who fixes the workflow? | Built in | Needs setup | Needs setup | Needs setup | Needs setup | Needs setup | Not covered |
Where does the work happen, and who controls it?
One approved system that IT controls from day one. Data Shield flags or blocks sensitive information as staff type. We never use your content to train models.
Runs in your Microsoft 365 tenant. Old sharing settings come with it. It can surface any file a staff member can open.
Can you show who did what, months later?
The audit trail shows who did what, on every plan. Admins see it from the dashboard.
Microsoft Purview records Copilot activity. IT reviews it there.
Does it know your bylaws, your exemptions, and which policy is current?
Ready-made skills for government on every plan. Answers draw on the policies and files you connect through SharePoint, Outlook, and Teams.
Knows the files a licensed user can open. Your rules aren’t in there unless someone builds them in.
When a rule changes, who fixes the workflow?
GovAI builds, runs, and maintains the Agents for your first jobs. Your team can build its own Agents on the same platform.
Your team builds agents in Copilot Studio. A FOIA or packet workflow is one your team designs, tests, and maintains.
What does it cost to get the job done, counting staff time?
One annual price for your organization. Onboarding and coaching are included. Use capacity is sized into your plan, and your price is set for the contract year.
A monthly license per user on top of Microsoft 365. Copilot Studio credits for agents are extra, plus staff time to build them.
Where does each option earn its place?
Governed, repeatable work across every department. Records requests, agenda packets, policy answers, and staff reports.
Drafting, formulas, and slides inside Word, Excel, and PowerPoint. Email and meeting catch-up too.
Where does the work happen, and who controls it?
One approved system that IT controls from day one. Data Shield flags or blocks sensitive information as staff type. We never use your content to train models.
Business and Enterprise add controls. IT sets them up and enforces them. Free and personal accounts carry no retention rule or audit trail.
Can you show who did what, months later?
The audit trail shows who did what, on every plan. Admins see it from the dashboard.
Only on Enterprise and Edu, through the Compliance Platform. Logs are kept for 30 days unless someone downloads them.
Does it know your bylaws, your exemptions, and which policy is current?
Ready-made skills for government on every plan. Answers draw on the policies and files you connect through SharePoint, Outlook, and Teams.
General training data, unless someone connects your files. That connection is one your team builds and maintains.
When a rule changes, who fixes the workflow?
GovAI builds, runs, and maintains the Agents for your first jobs. Your team can build its own Agents on the same platform.
Your team builds each workflow. OpenAI retires custom GPTs on December 11, 2026, so those builds get redone as plugins.
What does it cost to get the job done, counting staff time?
One annual price for your organization. Onboarding and coaching are included. Use capacity is sized into your plan, and your price is set for the contract year.
Priced per seat. Plus the staff time to build, test, and rebuild workflows.
Where does each option earn its place?
Governed, repeatable work across every department. Records requests, agenda packets, policy answers, and staff reports.
General drafting and questions. Enterprise adds real controls: single sign-on, an Admin Console, and a compliance platform.
Where does the work happen, and who controls it?
One approved system that IT controls from day one. Data Shield flags or blocks sensitive information as staff type. We never use your content to train models.
Team and Enterprise add admin controls. IT sets them up and enforces them. Free and Pro are personal accounts with no organization control.
Can you show who did what, months later?
The audit trail shows who did what, on every plan. Admins see it from the dashboard.
Audit logs only on Enterprise. Anthropic’s Compliance API is not offered to public sector organizations.
Does it know your bylaws, your exemptions, and which policy is current?
Ready-made skills for government on every plan. Answers draw on the policies and files you connect through SharePoint, Outlook, and Teams.
General training data, plus whatever files someone connects. How well it fits depends on who builds the Projects and Skills.
When a rule changes, who fixes the workflow?
GovAI builds, runs, and maintains the Agents for your first jobs. Your team can build its own Agents on the same platform.
Anthropic’s ready-made Skills cover Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and PDF files. A FOIA or packet workflow is one your team writes.
What does it cost to get the job done, counting staff time?
One annual price for your organization. Onboarding and coaching are included. Use capacity is sized into your plan, and your price is set for the contract year.
Priced per seat, with usage charges on top for Enterprise. Plus the staff time to build and maintain workflows.
Where does each option earn its place?
Governed, repeatable work across every department. Records requests, agenda packets, policy answers, and staff reports.
Strong writing and careful reasoning. Enterprise adds audit logs and custom data retention.
Where does the work happen, and who controls it?
One approved system that IT controls from day one. Data Shield flags or blocks sensitive information as staff type. We never use your content to train models.
Workspace plans give IT controls. IT sets them up and enforces them. Personal Google accounts sit outside your admin console.
Can you show who did what, months later?
The audit trail shows who did what, on every plan. Admins see it from the dashboard.
Workspace audit logs track activity. IT exports and reviews them.
Does it know your bylaws, your exemptions, and which policy is current?
Ready-made skills for government on every plan. Answers draw on the policies and files you connect through SharePoint, Outlook, and Teams.
Knows what staff can open in Gmail and Drive. It can’t tell the approved policy from last year’s draft.
When a rule changes, who fixes the workflow?
GovAI builds, runs, and maintains the Agents for your first jobs. Your team can build its own Agents on the same platform.
Google’s ready-made agents cover research and notebooks. A FOIA or packet workflow is one your team builds.
What does it cost to get the job done, counting staff time?
One annual price for your organization. Onboarding and coaching are included. Use capacity is sized into your plan, and your price is set for the contract year.
Per-user licensing through Workspace. Gemini Enterprise is a separate per-seat license for agents.
Where does each option earn its place?
Governed, repeatable work across every department. Records requests, agenda packets, policy answers, and staff reports.
Email, documents, and search inside Google Workspace. Google says Workspace doesn’t train on customer data without permission.
Where does the work happen, and who controls it?
One approved system that IT controls from day one. Data Shield flags or blocks sensitive information as staff type. We never use your content to train models.
Controls hold as long as someone configures and enforces them. When staff build as they go on personal accounts, IT has no view at all.
Can you show who did what, months later?
The audit trail shows who did what, on every plan. Admins see it from the dashboard.
Enterprise plans keep logs, often for a short window. Your team builds the export, retention, and review.
Does it know your bylaws, your exemptions, and which policy is current?
Ready-made skills for government on every plan. Answers draw on the policies and files you connect through SharePoint, Outlook, and Teams.
As good as the files you connect and the rules your team writes down.
When a rule changes, who fixes the workflow?
GovAI builds, runs, and maintains the Agents for your first jobs. Your team can build its own Agents on the same platform.
Your team, for every workflow, for as long as you use it. A build doesn’t stay finished when rules and files change.
What does it cost to get the job done, counting staff time?
One annual price for your organization. Onboarding and coaching are included. Use capacity is sized into your plan, and your price is set for the contract year.
Licenses or usage charges. Plus the staff time to build, test, and rebuild.
Where does each option earn its place?
Governed, repeatable work across every department. Records requests, agenda packets, policy answers, and staff reports.
Full control over every part of the build. Plenty of IT teams can stand up a model.
Where does the work happen, and who controls it?
One approved system that IT controls from day one. Data Shield flags or blocks sensitive information as staff type. We never use your content to train models.
Staff use personal accounts and free tools IT doesn’t manage. The risk is there, and nobody can see it.
Can you show who did what, months later?
The audit trail shows who did what, on every plan. Admins see it from the dashboard.
No one. There’s no log to review.
Does it know your bylaws, your exemptions, and which policy is current?
Ready-made skills for government on every plan. Answers draw on the policies and files you connect through SharePoint, Outlook, and Teams.
General tools don’t know your code, your exemptions, or which policy is current.
When a rule changes, who fixes the workflow?
GovAI builds, runs, and maintains the Agents for your first jobs. Your team can build its own Agents on the same platform.
No one. Each staff member works out their own approach.
What does it cost to get the job done, counting staff time?
One annual price for your organization. Onboarding and coaching are included. Use capacity is sized into your plan, and your price is set for the contract year.
No license cost. The cost shows up as overtime, temp staff, and backlog that carries into next year.
Where does each option earn its place?
Governed, repeatable work across every department. Records requests, agenda packets, policy answers, and staff reports.
Time to write an AI policy before you choose a tool. Holding off is a reasonable instinct in local government.
Vendor details come from each vendor’s public plan, pricing, help, and security pages, checked September 29, 2026. Plans change often, so check the current terms before you decide.
Side by side
Where each option fits next to GovAI.
Each card names what the option is. Open the full page to see it side by side with GovAI.
Pricing
GovAI’s pricing gives everyone access.
With a per-seat tool, someone makes a list of who gets access. The people left off go back to personal AI accounts. Here is how GovAI is priced instead.
See how pricing works- One annual price for your organization
- Everyone on staff gets access
- Use capacity is sized into your plan, and your price is set for the contract year
- More Agents when the work grows, each priced by the job
- Onboarding, training, and a dedicated customer success manager are included
Questions
Questions buyers ask us.
How did you score each option?
We read each vendor’s public plan, pricing, help, and security pages on September 29, 2026, and scored the best plan a local government could buy. Where a paid plan includes a real control, like single sign-on or audit logs, it gets credit. A half circle means the control or workflow is possible, but your team has to configure it, build it, or pay for a higher plan.
Can we use these five questions on GovAI too?
Yes. Put them in your RFP or evaluation sheet and ask every vendor, us included, to answer in writing. The answers are easy to compare side by side.
We already pay for Microsoft 365 Copilot. Do we have to choose?
No. Most organizations run both. Copilot stays for work inside Word, Excel, and PowerPoint. GovAI runs the governed work, secure chat, and Agents on named jobs like packets, records, and permits.
Does GovAI replace ChatGPT, Claude, and Gemini?
On government work, yes. GovAI gives staff an approved place to do that work, with an audit trail. It doesn’t replace your Microsoft 365 or Google Workspace setup for email and documents.
Isn’t waiting the safer choice?
Holding off is a reasonable instinct in local government. Staff are using AI tools already, so waiting means that use happens without oversight. If you decide to wait, set a date and name who owns the backlog in the meantime.
What happens to our data?
We never use your content to train models, with Data Shield on or off. GovAI is SOC 2 Type II compliant and follows the NIST AI Risk Management Framework. Your IT lead can request the SOC 2 report on our Trust Center.
Why aren’t there prices on this page?
GovAI’s price depends on the size of your organization, and vendor prices change often. Our pricing page shows how the annual price works and what each plan includes.
See the difference for yourself.
Bring your hardest questions to a live tour, or ask a specialist how GovAI fits beside the tools you use today.