America gets a chatbot

FastCompany: The federal government has a chatbot. President Donald Trump launched america.gov on Tuesday, a new site that looks like ChatGPT or Claude with a prompt box to query the federal government. The underlying LLM draws its responses from official state sources. “With america.gov, the federal government no longer stands in your way, and it stands only at your service, and that’s what we’re doing,” Trump said at the unveiling.

“We’re simplifying it, we’re glamorizing it, we’re making it what it should be.” Trump signed an executive order Tuesday establishing the site, and according to the executive order, it excludes tax filing services provided by the Internal Revenue Service as well as services provided by the intelligence community and the Defense Department.

[Screenshot: America.gov] The site features a prompt box under a welcome message that reads, “Hello, America” and “Whatever you need from government, start here.” Suggested prompts include “How do I register my new business?,” “How do I replace my Social Security card?,” and “How do I book a campsite in a national park?” The idea is that citizens can simply ask the chatbot for answers instead of navigating digital government bureaucracy online. The site says by next year people will be able to use it to enroll in Medicare, apply for a passport, find a federal government job, and more. The White House did not respond to a request for comment.

“You’ll now have one front door for every single question,” Trump said. “Everything will be answered easily and quickly.” The National Design Studio , Trump’s government design office staffed by former DOGE staffers and headed by Airbnb cofounder and Chief Design Officer Joe Gebbia , designed the website. Like other sites the the studio has worked on— Realfood.gov and TrumpRX.gov , for example—the chatbot site is designed with a consumer sheen, with information laid out like an Apple product page in graphics inside squares with rounded corners. America.gov represents the office’s most ambitious rollout yet.

In an introductory message on the homepage that says in part that the site “uses AI to get simple answers only from official government sources,” in-line images and symbols are used like glyphs, a trend called Nouveau Rebus . The symbols are interactive. Click an arrow icon and it turns into a U.S. flag. Tap a trio of federal government seals and it shuffles into different agencies. [Screenshot: America.gov] For all its gloss, America.gov is powered by an LMM, and comes amid rising public adoption of and worries over AI, including in government. A recent move to automate U.S.

Web Design System accessibility testing has experts concerned it will hurt progress in making federal sites more accessible . The website’s frequently asked questions page notes that “AI can make mistakes, so check the sources included with each answer before making an important decision.” There’s a feedback button to report a problem. The FAQ also says the site doesn’t provide campaign or party information and “answers are based on published government sources.” The chatbot correctly identifies former President Joe Biden as the winner of the 2020 election, for example, instead of parroting Trump’s false claims.

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The launch of america.gov represents a significant advancement in government engagement through AI, which is impactful for brand strategy professionals focusing on digital transformation and user experience.