Anthropic has partnered with the state of California to have more state employees use its artificial intelligence assistant, Claude, as part of its efforts to leverage technology to increase government efficiency.
Gov. Gavin Newsom, who announced the partnership on Monday, said state agencies will have access to Claude at a 50% discount. Employees will also receive free training and other assistance. Under the agreement, local governments in California will receive similar discounts.
Government employees can use Claude to draft and summarize documents, analyze information, and perform other tasks.
San Francisco-based AI company Anthropic has a version of its AI assistant for government customers that offers higher security than what it offers to other consumers.
The new partnership shows how AI is playing a bigger role in work, as tech companies tout tools as a way to complete tasks faster. Last year, the City of San Francisco made Microsoft 365 Copilot Chat, powered by OpenAI models, available to approximately 30,000 city employees.
Still, the rise of automation in the workplace is raising concerns that people will lose their jobs. There are also concerns that adequate guardrails are not yet in place to mitigate data privacy and security risks.
Anthropic and the governor said they are focused on the responsible use of AI.
“AI should not replace human jobs in government. It should help employees act faster, solve problems more effectively, and deliver better outcomes for Californians,” Newsom said in a statement.
This statement does not seem to comfort union leaders.
“Wow. Look at our local governments. The governor is giving us 50% off coupons for giving up our residents’ personal data and outsourcing jobs to big tech companies. Isn’t that amazing? After all, California basically invented AI!” Lorena Gonzalez Fletcher, president of the California Federation of Labor Unions (AFL-CIO), said in a post about X.
Anthropic faces political hurdles in getting more companies and government agencies to use its products.
Most notable is his public confrontation with the Trump administration. The Trump administration this month ordered the company to cut off foreign access to its most powerful AI system.
The Trump administration cited potential national security risks, but Anthropic disagreed with the findings. Tensions subsided last week after the U.S. government granted Anthropic permission to restore access to its AI model, Mythos, to certain customers.
Anthropic, valued at about $1 trillion, has also signaled plans to become a publicly traded company.
California has already begun increasing its use of Claude in state government to better involve the public in AI policy discussions and develop tools to support state employees, the governor’s office said in a news release.
State agencies like the Department of Transportation are also using AI to reduce wait times and improve customer service.
“Our goal as state employees is to provide the best possible service to our fellow Californians,” Office of Government Operations Secretary Nick Maduros said in a statement. “To do that, we need to ensure our teams have access to the best and latest tools, including Claude and other emerging technologies.”
