Chatgpt: Pentagon wants to give its men access to ‘military versions’ of ChatGPT and Grok, here’s what these specialised versions will offer

ChatGPT and Grok are coming to the Pentagon’s GenAI.mil platform as the Department of War expands access to specialised AI tools for military personnel and civilian workers. The two systems will be available for handling Controlled Unclassified Information (CUI) at Impact Level 5 (IL5), according to the Pentagon.The Department of War announced Monday that the military versions of ChatGPT and Grok will join GenAI.mil, which launched in December with access only to a specialised version of Google’s Gemini. The department said the platform now has 1.7 million users among its 3 million-strong workforce, including military members and civilians.

How ChatGPT and Grok are being added to GenAI.mil

The move follows contracts worth up to $200 million each that the department awarded to OpenAI and Elon Musk’s SpaceXAI for AI tools. Google and Anthropic also received contracts at the time.ChatGPT Mil is being provided through OpenAI for Government, an initiative launched last summer to bring the company’s AI products to government workers. The Pentagon said the version available through GenAI.mil is designed for its secure environment and tailored to military needs.“ChatGPT on GenAI.mil will make unclassified work throughout the Department more efficient, freeing up time and resources so DoW personnel can focus on the mission,” Joe Larson, vice president and head of government at OpenAI, said in a statement to Fortune.“ChatGPT Mil brings a familiar commercial experience into the Department’s secure environment, tailored to warfighter needs,” the Pentagon said in a press release.

What ChatGPT Mil will offer military users

ChatGPT Mil will keep data within its environment and will not use it to train its models, the Pentagon said. Service members will be able to use the specialised versions of ChatGPT and Grok for CUI at Impact Level 5.IL5 refers to sensitive US government information that is not classified but requires additional security controls. Much of the military’s work remains unclassified and involves routine, document-heavy tasks in areas such as human resources, logistics and contracting.A person familiar with OpenAI’s uses said these areas could benefit from ChatGPT’s ability to process large amounts of information.

What the military version of Grok will offer

The Pentagon’s version of Grok, called Starshield AI’s Grok for Government, will provide access to deep thinking, inference, and different reasoning settings, including auto, fast and expert.The Department of War said the system can support several operational tasks, including market research analysis for acquisition professionals and supply-chain management for logisticians.The department said the technology will enable “the Joint Force to execute missions faster and with greater precision across numerous operational contexts, ranging from market research analysis for acquisition professionals to supply-chain management for logisticians.”

Why the Pentagon is pushing AI into daily workflows

The rollout comes as War Secretary Pete Hegseth pushes to make AI part of the Pentagon’s daily work. The effort follows the White House AI Action Plan, which says, “The United States must aggressively adopt AI within its Armed Forces if it is to maintain its global military preeminence.”A War Department official said the military is moving toward an “AI-first” mentality that will change how it fights, thinks and organises.Hegseth had previously instructed department personnel to incorporate AI into their routine work when GenAI.mil launched in December.“I expect every member of the Department to log in, learn it, and incorporate it into your workflows immediately. AI should be in your battle rhythm every single day,” Hegseth wrote in a December memo.

Why Anthropic’s Claude is missing

Anthropic’s Claude is notably absent from the latest additions. Earlier, the company disputed the Department of War’s restrictions on using its technology for autonomous weapons and surveillance.In February, US President Donald Trump directed federal agencies to stop using Anthropic’s technology, while Hegseth said he would designate the company a “supply-chain risk.” Anthropic sued the government a month later.Last week, a judge ruled that the Department of War had acted unlawfully by designating Anthropic a supply-chain risk.