ChatGPT dominates early AI spending in Congress as lawmakers weigh regulation

ChatGPT accounts for 80% of identifiable House AI spending

OpenAI’s ChatGPT accounted for about 88% of identifiable House spending on artificial intelligence tools during the year ending March 31, according to a CNBC analysis.

ChatGPT purchases appeared in at least 71 House member offices — roughly 1 in 6 — while Democratic offices spent more than three times as much as Republican offices on identifiable AI tools.

The figures capture only part of Congress’ AI use but show the technology becoming embedded in legislative research, constituent work and communications as lawmakers debate how the industry should be regulated and overseen.

OpenAI is dominating the first visible wave of artificial intelligence spending inside Congress .

The maker of ChatGPT accounted for roughly $9 out of every $10 spent on identifiable AI tools by House offices, committees and institutional accounts during the year ending March 31, according to a CNBC analysis of House disbursement records .

The records offer only a partial view of Congress' AI adoption because they exclude free accounts, AI bundled into broader software contracts and most Senate use.

Even so, they show at least a sixth of House member offices — and likely many more — are already using AI tools as lawmakers shape the industry's future.

CNBC identified at least $113,740 in spending on named AI vendors between April 1, 2025, and March 31, 2026, the most recent data available.

ChatGPT accounted for $100,580 of that total across 798 transactions — about 88% of the dollars and 96% of the transactions reviewed.

Anthropic's Claude , ChatGPT's closest chatbot rival, was a distant second, totaling $13,160 across 37 transactions.

The competition is about more than congressional office productivity.

OpenAI, Anthropic, Google and Microsoft are racing for influence across Washington as lawmakers and federal agencies decide how AI should be purchased, used and regulated.

Congressional staff are using the tools to summarize legislation, draft memos, prepare hearing materials and respond to constituents — work that can shape how offices understand policy, communicate with voters and manage the flood of information arriving on Capitol Hill.

Rep. Julie Fedorchak, R-N.D., said her staff used to spend hours writing memos to prepare her for the dozen-plus meetings she would have in a day — time that ate into writing and advancing legislation.

Fedorchak said she and her staff used ChatGPT to develop a searchable database of legislation she has worked on and materials received from constituents and outside organizations.

She said using AI to produce briefing memos from that information is "saving dozens and dozens of hours every week of staff time."

Other offices are also using AI to summarize reports and bills , draft social media posts, prepare constituent responses, analyze legislation, review hearing materials and sort through policy research, according to Marci Harris, CEO of POPVOX Foundation , a nonprofit that helps train members of Congress and staff on how to use AI.

"Staffers are famously overwhelmed, and actually AI is exacerbating that," Harris said, noting that lobbyists and constituents are also using AI to send longer, more frequent and more detailed material to congressional offices.

Lawmakers are working with less staff than in years past, Brennan Center for Justice senior research fellow Maya Kornberg notes in her book "Stuck — How Money, Media and Violence Prevent Change in Congress."

Democratic member offices accounted for $54,165 in identified AI purchases, more than three times the $15,782 spent by Republican offices.

ChatGPT purchases appeared in 44 Democratic member offices and 27 Republican offices.