After doubling in 2024, agency use cases for artificial intelligence doubled again in 2025 to more than 3,600 in use or development. Image: William Potter/Shutterstock.com By: FEDweek Staff
In responding to concerns he has heard from OPM employees about the potential impact of AI on their careers—which would apply more broadly across the government—OPM director Scott Kupor has recommended getting educated about it and trying it out.
A posting looking back on the impact of jobs from innovations ranging from mechanized textile manufacture to ATMs acknowledges loss of jobs in some cases but also stresses that freeing up employees from routine tasks offers the potential for organizations to offer new and expanded services. It shortly follows OPM’s launch of an AI-enabled tool for writing position descriptions for use in recruiting.
“For my OPM colleagues, I think that in times of change the best thing to do is to control what you can. We can’t turn back the clock on AI and wish it away . . . Instead, let’s control what we can,” he wrote.
“Educate ourselves on how to utilize the technology to improve our daily job functions and deliver more efficiently on our promises to the American people. This doesn’t mean you have to transform your job but do look for incremental ways to try to new things. Take a training course, participate as an AI Ambassador, watch a YouTube video on some cool feature of AI. In my humble opinion, I think the greatest gift you can give yourselves is the opportunity for education – to learn new things that will enhance your skills and enable you to be a first-class participant in an AI-first world.
“Think about what a world of “ubiquitous abundance” would mean in terms of our ability to serve our customers. What things are we not doing today because we don’t have the budget that we would want to do if budget were not a constraint? What incremental value could we bring to our annuitants, our health insurance customers, our partner agencies across the government if AI enabled us to free up 5%, 10%, 20% of work hours and add new things to our place of deliverables? I know many of you have great ideas; now is the time to start thinking ‘what if?’”
“Against this appeal for optimism, I also understand the anxiety some of you have. But I firmly believe we as Americans are fountains of ingenuity and innovation. And as a result, there will be all kinds of new roles that will emerge as we figure out how to expand the scope of things we do for our constituents. Ultimately, each of you will decide your own truth. You don’t need to be an unfettered techno-optimist, but I encourage you not to be a Luddite either. As is often the case, the truth lies probably somewhere in between,” he wrote.
Kupor’s message—learn AI, experiment with it, and adapt—lands as adoption across government is accelerating rapidly. With thousands of use cases now reported and likely many more uncounted, the question is not whether AI will affect federal work, but how deeply and in what ways. For employees, the opportunity lies in shaping that impact—using AI to reduce routine workload and expand the scope of services delivered—while managing the real concerns around job change and skill disruption.
Uses cases doubling
After doubling in 2024, agency use cases for artificial intelligence doubled again in 2025 to more than 3,600 in use or development, according to the latest compilation. As of April 13, 2026, the following represents a summary of the current repository being tracked on GitHub:
- 56 total agency submissions providing individually reported use cases, consolidated commercial off-the-shelf (COTS) AI use cases, or confirmation to OMB that AI is not being used
- 41 agency submissions for individually reported AI use cases
- 46 agency submissions for consolidated COTS AI use cases
- 3,611 individually-reported AI use cases (all stages of development)
- 445 high-impact AI use cases
- 2 agencies that affirmatively reported no use of AI
The actual number likely is far higher, since the accounting excludes AI “when it is being used either as a component of a National Security System or within the Intelligence Community”; “when it is being used to carry out basic research or applied research”; those at the Department of Defense/War; and more.
Of the four dozen agencies covered by the accounting, the number was the largest at HHS, 447, followed by VA, 367, and Energy, 340. About half are deemed “deployed or piloted” while 445 in total were deemed “high-impact.” Common uses include for functions such as management of finances, human resources, facilities and properties; and cybersecurity, IT, procurement, and other administrative functions.
Workforce anxieties and opportunity
Ultimately, understanding AI’s impact requires more than counting tools or use cases. It should be measured based on where AI is being adopted, how it changes productivity and workload, how it reshapes workforce structure and skills, and what risks or governance challenges it introduces.
Only by tracking changes in output, staffing patterns, and service quality – alongside employee experience – can agencies determine AI’s impacts.
Kupor in part seems to be echoing an increasingly common adage: AI isn’t going to replace your job – it’s someone else using AI more effectively. Those who engage with AI early will be best positioned not just to adapt, but to help define how it transforms the federal workforce.
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