On Sept. 29, President Donald Trump introduced America.gov, an AI-powered portal for government services. A security researcher questioned claims that the system couldn’t be hacked. The planned service aims to help people navigate government systems, including checking student-loan or Medicare eligibility and changing a government name or home address.
Trump called America.gov the “ultimate product” and said it would make government easier to access. “With America.gov, the federal government no longer stands in your way, and it stands only at your service,” he said at the launch. He also described the project as “glamorizing” government services and making them “what it should be.”
The launch put a new AI interface between users and federal information and services. Trump signed an executive order directing federal agencies to integrate their services with the site. The article doesn’t describe any transfer of legal authority to the portal, but the order would link agency services through a shared interface.
Privacy and Security Questions
Trump said the website was built with privacy and security in mind. He said it wouldn’t collect or store personal information, conversations would disappear when users left, and “everything stays totally private.” Jessica Ji, a senior research analyst at Georgetown’s Center for Security and Emerging Technology (CSET), disputed Trump’s claim that the site “in theory” couldn’t be hacked.
AI chatbots have weaknesses, Ji told USA TODAY. “It’s basically impossible to tell what those weaknesses are before they are discovered.” She also warned that letting an AI system handle private data and act for users could raise risks. “I think you are increasing the attack surface quite a bit,” she said.
The website has already returned inconsistent answers in simple interactions. Reddit users posted examples of the chatbot replying to requests with random messages, including one for “Play Minecraft.” USA TODAY submitted the same request and got a similar response. The article also reported spelling errors, unproven claims and confusing replies. Those examples raise questions about the system’s performance, but the article doesn’t report that user information has been exposed.
A Government Concierge
Joe Gebbia, the chief design officer of the United States and architect of America.gov, called the site a “concierge to navigate the government.” “Don’t think of it as a website; it’s more of a conversation that you start with the government to try to get access to the answers you need,” he told Fox News.
Gebbia said the website was trained on 29,000 U.S. government websites and 800 million pages. The General Services Administration, the Office of Management and Budget, and the National Design Studio co-created and run it. Trump established the National Design Studio, a White House initiative, in 2025.
In a demonstration, Gebbia said the site could guide users through next steps, including a checklist with links to complete a name change at the state level. Trump said that by early 2027, America.gov would be able to act on users’ behalf, including filling out applications and renewals and applying for passports. The portal is planned to do more than direct people to information; it would also carry out tasks for them. Ji’s warning centers on that expanding role: AI systems that handle private data and act for users can increase the system’s attack surface.