Israel to Test Dozens of AI Tools for Policy and Regulation

Israel's National Directorate for Artificial Intelligence, operating under the Prime Minister's Office, is planning to evaluate and compare dozens of AI tools. This initiative is part of its broader effort to develop policy and regulation in the rapidly evolving field of artificial intelligence. According to tender documents released by the office, the directorate intends to acquire licenses for 21 AI tools and platforms, with an estimated annual cost of approximately one million shekels. The initial contract is for one year, with an option to extend for an additional three years.

Shachar Bracha, Deputy Head of the Directorate and lead for national AI policy, stated in an opinion document that hands-on, up-to-date familiarity with leading market tools is essential for the directorate's work. The stated goals include formulating policy and regulation based on a practical understanding of the capabilities, limitations, and risks of these tools. Other objectives involve tracking global technological trends, early identification of new capabilities, and enhancing the professional expertise of the directorate's staff.

This procurement stems from a September 2025 government decision to establish the directorate as a subordinate unit within the Prime Minister's Office. The decision also transferred the responsibility for AI policy and regulation from the Ministry of Innovation, Science, and Technology to the Prime Minister's Office. The directorate is tasked with developing policy and advising government ministries on regulatory matters, including removing barriers and promoting the development and use of AI.

An additional decision from June 2026 mandated the directorate, in collaboration with the Ministry of Finance, the Regulatory Authority, and other bodies, to review existing regulatory principles and recommend updates. This includes developing a methodology for consultation and coordination among regulatory bodies, guided by the principle of "responsible artificial intelligence." The list of intended AI tools includes prominent platforms such as OpenAI's ChatGPT, Anthropic's Claude, Mistral, and xAI's Grok, alongside others like Perplexity, Adobe Firefly, Runway, ElevenLabs, Cursor, Lovable, Replit, OpenRouter, Hugging Face, and Ollama. The directorate noted that this list will be periodically reviewed and updated to reflect technological advancements. Some of these tools specialize in specific areas like video, design, voice replication, or automation management.

The licenses are intended exclusively for the directorate's employees for learning, experimentation, research, and professional development. The opinion document emphasizes the need for "systematic, comparative, and continuous use" of these tools, keeping pace with their development. The tender document does not specify the number of licenses per product, the total number of employees who will use them, or the allocation of the budget among the various tools. The directorate is seeking to use a single-manufacturer procurement path, arguing that each specific product requires distinct study and cannot be substituted by a similar competitor tool. The comparative analysis of these tools is considered a core part of the directorate's function, making them complementary for the purchase's objective. Current AI regulation in Israel has not yet been codified into laws or regulations, with the sole written document based on principles established by the OECD.