The Only AI Tools That Make Money With Government Contracts in 2026

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99.9% of the AI tools being pitched for government contracting do not work and never will. The people building them don't understand government contracting, and the people who understand government contracting don't know how to build software.

In this episode, I rack and stack the only 4 AI tools that can actually move the needle in government contracting (and one that you should avoid at all costs).

I'm joined by two GovClose graduates who use these tools every day: Jonathan Haynes, a retired Navy CAPT and one of the most in-demand government contract consultants in the industry, and Micah Dixon, an account executive and business developer actively selling to the government.

We cover the full stack: Claude, Claude Cowork, and Codex for proposals and desktop automation, ChatGPT's deep research for federal spending analysis, Gemini as a second opinion, NotebookLM for pitting AI answers against each other and running PIID lookups straight from agency budget documents, and why DeepSeek should never touch anything related to government contracting. Plus, how I used AI to build my own government contracting research tool, and why AI will create more jobs in this industry, not fewer.

0:00 99.9% of AI Government Contracting Tools Don't Work
0:36 Former DoD Acquisitions Officer, $82B Managed
0:54 Meet the Panel: Jonathan Haynes and Micah Dixon
1:22 Tool #1: Claude (Plus Cowork and Codex)
1:49 What Claude Cowork and Codex Actually Do
2:51 Automating a Daily Report From Email and Accounting
3:15 Proposals and BD Strategy With Claude
3:48 Claude's Grade: A+
4:15 Tool #2: ChatGPT
4:42 Deep Research for Federal Spending and the FAR
5:12 Finding SBA Contacts at an Air Force Base in Minutes
5:42 ChatGPT's Grade: A
6:18 Tool #3: Gemini
7:27 Using Gemini as the "Second Mind"
7:48 Gemini's Grade: C+ (With an Asterisk)
8:13 Tool #4: NotebookLM — Pitting Three AIs Against Each Other
9:18 Creating Infographics for LinkedIn and Proposals
9:46 PIID Lookups From Budget Documents (No Hallucinations)
11:00 NotebookLM's Grade: B
11:06 Tool #5: DeepSeek and the China Problem
11:34 The Federal Law Banning DeepSeek From Government Systems
12:03 DeepSeek's Grade: F
12:06 How I Built My Own Research Tool With AI
12:33 Will AI Automate Government Contracting for You?
13:12 Why AI Creates MORE GovCon Jobs, Not Fewer
13:39 The Final Scorecard
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RESOURCES MENTIONED
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GovClose Program Overview (free 20-minute training): https://www.govclose.com
Jonathan Haynes: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jonathanbhaynes/
Micah Dixon: https://www.linkedin.com/in/micahdickson/
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ABOUT RICK HOWARD
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Rick Howard is a retired USAF Lieutenant Colonel and former DoD acquisitions officer who managed over $82 billion in federal contracts. He is the founder of GovClose and the DoD Contract Academy, with 400+ graduates working as government contract consultants, federal account executives, and business owners winning federal contracts.


Rick Howard expresses his opinions as a former government contracting officer and presents public data on government contracts that he analyzes. GovClose makes no guarantees whatsoever about federal spending data or government contracts.

Government contracting data changes constantly, and we make no claims of perfection when presenting data. All data can be looked at from different angles, and it is up to the viewer to do their own research, their own data analysis, and decide if government contracting is for them.

Disclaimer: This video reflects Rick Howard's personal opinions and independent analysis of publicly available government data. It does not represent an official position, endorsement, or statement of the U.S. Air Force or the Department of Defense.