Google expands Gemini DoD partnership with Gem-like agents for unclassified projects

Source: 9to5Google

Google’s Gemini AI model will start incorporating specialized AI agents into the Department of Defense’s (DoD) operations, initially limited to unclassified applications.

Expansion of the DoD Partnership

Google announced that it is expanding its partnership with the DoD, making the new Agent Designer feature available to government employees. The feature allows users to build custom AI agents through a “no‑/low‑code” interface, enabling natural‑language creation of models for repetitive administrative tasks.

• Over three million government employees already have access to Google’s models for unclassified work.
• More than one million unique users have leveraged GenAI.mil for tasks such as document creation, reviews, and workflow improvement.
• The Gemini AI agent tool will launch with eight ready‑to‑use agents.

Agent Designer (Gem‑like) Tool

Although Google does not label the feature as “Gems,” it resembles the model‑customization tool found in Google’s user‑facing AI suite. Government users will be able to:

1. Design custom agents via conversational prompts.
2. Deploy agents for repetitive tasks without extensive coding.
3. Iterate quickly using the low‑code environment.

Prospects for Classified Use

Emil Michael, the Under Secretary of Defense for Research and Engineering, indicated that using Google’s AI agents for classified applications is under discussion (via Bloomberg). The DoD and Google are exploring what a classified‑material version of Gemini would entail.

“We’re starting with unclassified because that’s where most of the users are, and then we’ll get to classified and top secret. I have high confidence they’re going to be a great partner on all networks.”

Context with Other AI Partnerships

• The DoD recently partnered with OpenAI, replacing Anthropic after concerns about safety measures.
• Anthropic has sued the U.S. government, claiming its designation as a “supply chain risk” is “unprecedented and unlawful.”

References

• Google blog announcement:
• Bloomberg report:
• Anthropic lawsuit document:
• OpenAI agreement with the Department of War:

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