The showdown between the U.S. government and Anthropic over military access to Claude models has captivated the tech world, culminating in Anthropic suing the Pentagon over its decision to blacklist the company as a “supply-chain risk.” Sensing an opportunity, OpenAI quickly landed an agreement with the Department of War (DoW) to provide its artificial intelligence systems in classified settings. As the dust settles from this initial skirmish, the ultimate winner might actually be a name that has flown under the radar: Google.
What Is Google’s Deal With the Pentagon?
As part of a previous agreement with the Pentagon, Google is expanding government access to its AI tech stack to include a tool called Agent Designer. This is a low- and no-code platform that allows users to build and deploy their own AI agents simply by using natural language, so any government employee can now develop agents to summarize documents, generate data-based insights and execute other tasks deemed repetitive or tedious.
Google has strengthened its ties with the Pentagon, granting government personnel access to a new feature that makes it easier to build and deploy their own AI agents — advanced AI systems that can autonomously complete complex, multi-step tasks without rules or human guidance. The move reflects how essential artificial intelligence has become to government infrastructure and positions Google for further federal collaboration, potentially giving the tech titan the upper hand over its rivals as Trump pushes for American AI to go global.
What to Know About Google’s Deal With the Pentagon
In December 2025, Google agreed to deploy its Gemini for Government platform on GenAI.mil, the Department of War’s enterprise AI platform that is used by 3 million approved civilian and military personnel. The more recent deal builds on this agreement, expanding government access to include a new platform known as Agent Designer.
Added as a feature within Gemini for Government, Agent Designer is a low- and no-code platform that enables users to design, train and deploy AI agents in unclassified settings using just natural language. As a result, even those with zero programming experience can create and manage either a single agent that performs one-step tasks or teams of agents that perform multi-step tasks.
Google envisions any government employee applying agents to execute actions that are repetitive, complicated or tedious, such as:
- Establishing step-by-step checklists to track to-do items for projects.
- Writing drafts for white papers, frameworks, meeting notes and other documents.
- Analyzing data within documents and generating reports with key insights.
- Saving files and email attachments by connecting to Google Workspace applications.
The idea is that government personnel can better leverage agentic teams to develop more efficient workflows and raise their productivity. AI agents and the promise they hold are no longer a secret, though, fueling a sense of urgency around Google’s decision to double down on its partnership with the DoW as other tech companies enter the fray.
Why Strike a Government Deal Now?
Several companies are vying to fill the void left by Anthropic and become the next go-to provider for government AI in classified and unclassified settings. Wasting no time after its initial deal with the Pentagon, OpenAI signed another contract granting U.S. defense agencies access to its AI models via Amazon Web Services. And Elon Musk’s xAI already inked a deal that allowed the Pentagon to use its Grok model in classified systems even before the complete breakdown of talks with Anthropic.
Solidifying its relationship with the Pentagon is then a necessity for Google, and enhancing its tech suite with agentic features arrives at what could be the perfect moment. After all, AI agents have been getting plenty of attention for the rapid advances they’ve made in coding, sparking discussions about the possible end of the traditional software-as-a-service model and widespread job losses later down the road.
Agents are still a work in progress, but they’re expected to reshape the workplace in the years ahead. By jumping on this trend before it takes off, Google can stay ahead of the competition, and government deals add assurance that the company will remain at the center of the American AI ecosystem — regardless of the consequences.
What This Reveals About the State of the AI Industry
In the immediate aftermath of the Anthropic-Pentagon fallout, dozens of Google employees (including its chief scientist Jeff Dean) signed on to an amici curiae brief supporting Anthropic and its refusal to allow the U.S. government to use its Claude models for domestic mass surveillance and autonomous weapon systems that fire without human oversight. That said, this gesture carries little weight given how Google’s stance on issues like war has evolved over the past decade.
For instance, Google fired 50 employees in April 2024 after protests over the company’s ties to the Israeli government and its military campaigns. Following this move, CEO Sundar Pichai shared a company-wide memo denouncing political initiatives among employees that might get in the way of the company’s success.
“This is a business,” Pichai wrote. “Not a place to act in a way that disrupts coworkers or makes them feel unsafe, to attempt to use the company as a personal platform, or to fight over disruptive issues or debate politics.”
It seems the rest of the tech industry has adopted this attitude as well, agreeing to contracts that cater to the Pentagon’s preferences. Of course, choosing the path of least resistance makes sense when Trump has rewarded businesses that cooperate with his administration with lucrative deals, massive infrastructure projects and opportunities to shape national policy. Meanwhile, Anthropic serves as a reminder of how quickly companies can become political pariahs when they step out of line, further encouraging tech leaders to stay on Trump’s good side.
As the AI race accelerates, concerns about moral values are becoming harder to prioritize for tech companies, and Google can’t afford any slip-ups at a moment when Trump plans on working with U.S. companies to distribute their AI tech stacks across the world. And this strategy of staying out of trouble might just pay off.
Google May Be the Player to Beat in the AI Race
As the DoW stands by its claim of Anthropic being an “unacceptable risk to national security,” the spotlight remains squarely on Anthropic and OpenAI. And OpenAI has taken flak for accepting the deal that Anthropic wouldn’t, raising safety concerns that have sparked fierce backlash from its own employees and the general public. It’s reached the point where the vast majority of businesses now choose Anthropic over OpenAI when investing in AI for the first time, and Claude has surpassed OpenAI’s ChatGPT as the top free app in the App Store.
Overshadowed by this Anthropic-versus-OpenAI narrative, Google continues to accelerate its push for AI supremacy while facing little public scrutiny. The company began building momentum in late 2025 when it survived an antitrust lawsuit that threatened to break up its business and launched its Gemini 3 model to recover from a slow start in the AI race. Now, it’s rolling out its personal intelligence feature across its AI mode and Gemini products and expanding its data center footprint with a new site in Michigan.
Considering how AI has become a hot-button issue, getting bogged down in political battles can inflict serious damage on a company’s brand and distract from its mission. If OpenAI and Anthropic continue to bicker with each other and the Pentagon, they may inadvertently present Google with a straightforward path to securing the partnerships and goodwill it needs to seize firm control of the AI industry.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is Google’s Agent Designer tool?
Agent Designer is included as a feature of Google’s Gemini for Government platform. As a low- and no-code platform, Agent Designer enables approved civilian and military personnel to use natural language to build, train and deploy their own AI agents — removing the need for coding experience. The tool is intended to complete unclassified work like writing step-by-step checklists, drafting white papers and generating insights from reports.
How does Google’s approach with the Pentagon differ from Anthropic’s
Anthropic has held firm in its decision to refuse the Pentagon’s request for full, unconditional access to Claude, going so far as to sue the Pentagon after it was declared a “supply-chain risk.” On the other hand, Google has embraced an approach that avoids political controversies. While some of its top employees have openly supported Anthropic’s stance, the company itself has expanded its partnership with the Pentagon — at least for unclassified work.
How has the public reacted to government AI deals?
The American public has largely rewarded Anthropic for standing up to the Pentagon and punished OpenAI for stepping in to secure its own deal. Amid safety concerns surrounding OpenAI’s government contract, users have fled ChatGPT for Claude, making Anthropic’s chatbot the App Store’s top free application. Businesses have also pivoted, with 73 the vast majority of companies preferring Anthropic over OpenAI when investing in enterprise AI for the first time. Given Americans’ anxiety around AI, government use of the technology has been received poorly, especially in military and intelligence contexts
How has the public reacted to government AI deals?
The American public has largely rewarded Anthropic for standing up to the Pentagon and punished OpenAI for stepping in to secure its own deal. Amid safety concerns surrounding OpenAI’s government contract, users have fled ChatGPT for Claude, making Anthropic’s chatbot the App Store’s top free application. Businesses have also pivoted, with 73 the vast majority of companies preferring Anthropic over OpenAI when investing in enterprise AI for the first time. Given Americans’ anxiety around AI, government use of the technology has been received poorly, especially in military and intelligence contexts
