OpenAI’s ChatGPT accounted for nearly 90% of disclosed spending on standalone AI tools by US House offices, committees and institutional accounts during the year ending March 31, 2026. An analysis by CNBC found that House entities spent about $100,580 on ChatGPT across 798 transactions, compared with at least $113,740 spent on AI products overall.
Anthropic’s Claude ranked second, receiving approximately $13,160 across 37 transactions. No other standalone AI tool represented a substantial share of the spending identified in the analysis.
Democratic Offices Recorded Higher Spending
Democratic offices accounted for $54,165 in AI purchases during the period. Republican offices spent $15,782, meaning disclosed spending by Democratic offices was more than three times higher.
The remaining transactions came from House committees, administrative bodies and other institutional accounts. The figures were drawn from the House’s quarterly Statements of Disbursements, which record expenses made by representatives, committees, leadership offices and House officials.
The data does not provide a complete measure of AI adoption across Congress. It excludes staff members using free accounts and tools included within broader software subscriptions or enterprise agreements.
AI features bundled into products from Microsoft, Google and other technology providers may therefore be used without appearing as separate AI purchases in the records. Senate spending was also not included in the House data.
Staff Use AI Across Legislative Work
Congressional employees are using ChatGPT and similar services to draft internal memos, summarise bills and analyse legislative language. The tools also help staff respond to constituents, prepare materials for hearings and organise policy research.
Other uses include drafting social media posts and converting lengthy documents into shorter explanations. ChatGPT’s official product materials describe writing, research, analysis and document work as central functions of the service.
The spending figures show that ChatGPT has established a significant lead over competing standalone products within the House. OpenAI received more than seven times the amount paid to Anthropic during the period, while the number of recorded ChatGPT transactions was more than 21 times higher.
No official announcement about the spending analysis has been published by OpenAI. The findings are based on CNBC’s review of public House financial records rather than figures released by the AI company.
Featured image credits: Focal Foto via Flickr
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