Ask Sage, Inc. ()

B-423827 Dec 18, 2025 Jump To VIEW DECISION DOWNLOADS RELATED PAGES GAO CONTACTS Highlights Ask Sage, Inc., a small business of Bentonville, Virginia, protests the actions of the General Services Administration (GSA) under contract No. 47QSWA18D008F, a Federal Supply Schedule (FSS) contract with Carahsoft Technology Corp. for information technology products and services. The protester contends that GSA acted improperly by modifying the contract to make Anthropic PBC's Claude for Enterprise and Claude for Government solutions available to agencies for $1 for one year. We dismiss the protest because we do not review matters of contract administration. View Decision Decision Matter of: Ask Sage, Inc. File: B-423827 Date: December 18, 2025 Amanda Chaillan for the protester. Sharon Chen, Esq., and James Van Biber, Esq., General Services Administration, for the agency. Samantha S. Lee, Esq., and Peter H. Tran, Esq., Office of the General Counsel, GAO, participated in the preparation of the decision. DIGEST Protest challenging agency’s actions under Federal Supply Schedule contract is dismissed where issue arises under a modification to the contract and is a matter of contract administration that GAO will not review. DECISION Ask Sage, Inc., a small business of Bentonville, Virginia, protests the actions of the General Services Administration (GSA) under contract No. 47QSWA18D008F, a Federal Supply Schedule (FSS) contract with Carahsoft Technology Corp. for information technology products and services. The protester contends that GSA acted improperly by modifying the contract to make Anthropic PBC’s Claude for Enterprise and Claude for Government solutions available to agencies for $1 for one year. We dismiss the protest because we do not review matters of contract administration. BACKGROUND Ask Sage provides enterprise generative artificial intelligence (AI) solutions. Protest at 1. Carahsoft is a reseller of information technology products and services to include products and solutions from Ask Sage. Req. for Dismissal (RFD) at 2; Contracting Officer’s Statement (COS) at 1. Under the FSS contract between GSA and Carahsoft, Carahsoft has offered Ask Sage enterprise solutions since September 2024. COS at 1; RFD, exh. 7, Carahsoft Contract Mod. PS‑0806. Carahsoft’s FSS contract also offers products and services from more than 300 other companies, including Anthropic’s Claude for Enterprise and Claude for Government solutions. COS at 1; RFD, exh. 5, Carahsoft Contract Mod. PS-1133. On August 12, 2025, GSA issued a notice announcing an “agreement with Anthropic to deliver Claude for Enterprise and Claude for Government to all three branches of the U.S. government -- federal civilian executive, legislative, and judiciary -- for a nominal fee of $1.” Protest, attach. 1, GSA Announcement at 1. According to the announcement, federal agencies can now “gain[] up to a full year of Claude for Enterprise and Claude for Government for a nominal fee.” Id. at 2. In response, Ask Sage emailed GSA with questions about the announcement, and GSA explained that the announcement related to an offering available under Carahsoft’s FSS contract. Protest, attach. 3, Ask Sage Emails at 5-6. Ask Sage filed this protest with our Office on August 15. DISCUSSION Ask Sage protests the offering set forth in the GSA announcement, asserting primarily that a “$1 unlimited annual license pricing structure” was inconsistent with commercial practices and risked “an impermissible vendor lock-in scenario” and would otherwise frustrate full and open competition in the future. Protest at 2-3. The protester also argues that the Claude solutions do not meet export-control requirements associated with the International Traffic in Arms Regulation. Id. at 2. GSA seeks dismissal of the protest. As the agency explains, GSA added Anthropic’s Claude for Enterprise and Claude for Government to Carahsoft’s FSS contract in July 2025. RFD at 2; RFD, exh. 5, Carahsoft Contract Mod. PS-1133. The $1 for one year offering challenged by Ask Sage was “effectuated via modification” to the contract, revising the price list. RFD at 2; RFD, exh. 6, Carahsoft Contract Mod. PS-1178 at 3. According to the agency, Ask Sage’s protest challenges a modification to an existing contract, and is therefore a matter of contract administration. RFD at 3-4. We agree. The jurisdiction of our Office is established by the bid protest provisions of the Competition in Contracting Act of 1984 (CICA), 31 U.S.C. §§ 3551-3557. Under CICA and our Bid Protest Regulations, we review protests of alleged violations of procurement statutes and regulations by federal agencies in the award or proposed award of contracts for the procurement of goods and services, and solicitations leading to such awards. 31 U.S.C. §§ 3551, 3552; 4 C.F.R. § 21.1(a).