David Kim, Unison, VP Product
Acquisition’s Next Big Moment
In the 1970s, finance teams relied on paper ledgers and manual calculators to create forecasts. Changing one assumption meant recalculating the entire model, column by column. Digital spreadsheets eliminated that bottleneck nearly overnight, transforming a tedious routine into instant analysis. Finance teams gained time, accuracy, and the freedom to think ahead instead of playing catch-up.
Federal acquisition teams now have a similar opportunity. Contracting officers today manage heavier workloads and increased oversight with fewer staff and tighter budgets. AI agents offer a breakthrough, like what spreadsheets brought to finance, by automating administrative tasks and freeing up valuable hours for contracting officers.
Acquisition Workloads Have Outgrown Processes
Over the past decade, the workload for federal contracting officers has significantly increased. As acquisition volumes and complexity have grown, many officers now manage considerably more actions each year than before, without a corresponding increase in staff or support systems.
Furthermore, complex acquisitions still take 18 to 24 months from requirement to award. While digital forms and e-signatures help speed up individual transactions, they do not address the underlying scale issue. Contracting teams remain bogged down by gathering data from disconnected systems, manually checking compliance, and copying clauses from outdated templates. This clerical grind wastes time and energy that could be better utilized for strategic analysis, supplier engagement, and mission-focused planning.
AI Agents Take on the Work That Slows Teams Down
Federal acquisition AI agents are digital teammates created to manage specific aspects of the acquisition lifecycle. These agents operate within and among Commercial-off-the-Shelf (COTS) software, relieving teams from time-consuming, repetitive tasks. Examples include:
- Regulatory Intelligence Agents scan solicitations against FAR, DFARS, and specific agency supplements (e.g., VAAR, HSAR), rapidly flagging compliance gaps and missing clauses.
- Market Intelligence Agents aggregate and analyze data from FPDS, CPARS, SAM.gov, and commercial market sources to deliver real-time insights into pricing trends, vendor performance risks, and small business set-aside availability.
- Document Generation Agents rapidly produce initial drafts of Statements of Work (SOW), evaluation criteria, Request for Proposal (RFP) documents, and compliance matrices, compressing days of manual effort into minutes.
Each agent enhances an acquisition professional’s ability to spend more minutes focused on mission-critical tasks. Additional benefits emerge when agents collaborate within a coordinated network. An orchestrator agent is central to that network, acting as a reasoning system that assigns tasks, manages interdependencies, and sequences activities based on inputs, timing, and feedback.
Consider it a digital project lead or acquisition coordinator. When a Contracting Officer provides a high-level directive, such as "Develop an acquisition plan for an IT infrastructure refresh compliant with FAR/DFARS and optimized for small business participation," the orchestrator immediately engages and coordinates appropriate agents:
- The Market Intelligence Agent compiles historical pricing, supplier availability, and market-informed acquisition strategies.
- The Regulatory Intelligence Agent reviews early documents to ensure compliance with regulatory requirements.
- The Document Generation Agent drafts the initial versions of required documents (SOW, RFP, evaluation criteria) tailored to current policy requirements and acquisition objectives.
While AI agents significantly reduce manual workloads and accelerate processes, their outputs are intended to augment, not replace, the expertise and judgment of contracting officers and acquisition professionals.
AI Use in Acquisition is No Longer a Fringe Idea
The momentum for AI adoption in federal acquisition is growing, not just at the agency level. In April 2025, the White House issued new policy guidance to promote the responsible, efficient, and scalable deployment of artificial intelligence.
- OMB Memorandum M-25-21 directs agencies to accelerate their use of AI in ways that protect privacy, civil liberties, and public trust.
- OMB Memorandum M-25-22 focuses squarely on acquisition, encouraging faster, more competitive, and more effective acquisition of AI tools across government.
Together, these policies eliminate bureaucracies that hinder progress. They also highlight the need for practical solutions, particularly those that assist agencies in meeting increasing demands with limited budgets and staff. AI agents align directly with this objective. Agencies already utilizing COTS don’t need a major transformation for implementation. They integrate seamlessly into these modern platforms.
Three Practical Actions Agencies Can Take Today
- Pilot an AI agent for a repetitive task. Select a common, labor-intensive activity, such as clause verification or SAM.gov exclusions, and measure the immediate impact on team workload and throughput.
- Ensure systems support structured data. AI agents rely on centralized, secure platforms with structured, accessible data. Adopt FedRAMP-authorized commercial systems that provide seamless integration points and API-driven flexibility.
- Build training directly into your rollout. User confidence comes from understanding and experience. Provide early sandbox access and peer-led demonstrations so contracting officers can see precisely how these agents complement their existing workflows.
How Agencies Are Getting Ahead
With new OMB guidance and support from the White House, agency leaders now have a clearer AI mandate to follow. The focus is on achieving intelligent, measurable progress. Some teams are exploring pilot programs, while others are preparing by identifying repeatable tasks, aligning stakeholders, and evaluating platforms for readiness.
Unison is guiding clients through this transition. Our reliable COTS software satisfies the technical and policy requirements for implementing AI agents within acquisition workflows. Agencies utilizing Unison can introduce these tools gradually, beginning with targeted, low-risk functions and expanding as results build trust. Unison’s AI platform ensures orchestration, auditability, and secure collaboration from day one.
For acquisition teams under pressure to achieve more with fewer resources, AI agents provide a practical, ready-to-deploy solution built for the realities of federal acquisition.
