America.gov chatbot changed political answers within minutes of launch

• The chatbot initially said Joe Biden won the 2020 election, then began refusing some repeat political questions, the Associated Press reported.¹
• The General Services Administration operates America.gov; the White House National Design Studio built it, Axios reported.²
• The site currently guides people towards government tasks; completing forms and renewals in one place is a planned future feature.²³

At America.gov’s launch on Tuesday, 29 September, the chatbot gave answers about politically charged subjects that contradicted claims by President Donald Trump. Within moments, the Associated Press reported, it started declining some of those same questions as political inquiries.¹

The shift included a question about the 2020 election. AP first received an answer saying official federal sources showed no widespread fraud had changed the result. Asked again, it received a refusal. AP also reported changes to answers about the 2020 election, inauguration crowd sizes and other political subjects.¹²

The bot’s answers were not uniformly consistent later in the day. The Daily Beast independently asked whether Trump won the 2020 election and received an answer saying certified results showed Biden had won. The outlet also found that some users encountered a message saying chat was unavailable.³ Those reports show different responses at different times; they do not establish why they changed or whether the reported service interruptions were related.

The General Services Administration runs the site, Axios reported, while the White House’s National Design Studio built it. Axios attributed the use of Google’s Gemini and xAI’s Grok to US Chief Design Officer Joe Gebbia. The site does not prominently identify its AI models, and AP reported that the chatbot itself would not name a specific one.¹²

America.gov is presented as a route to information about federal services, including replacing a Social Security card and comparing Medicare plans. At launch, however, it could answer questions and direct users on how to complete tasks; the ability to complete forms and renewals in one place was described as a plan for early 2027.²³

The practical guidance has had only limited spot-checking in the reporting reviewed. Axios tested a suggested question about investing for a child: the bot disclaimed investment, tax and legal advice, then offered general information. The Daily Beast tested an employment-related question and said the bot could not provide a verified number. Those checks do not establish how reliably the site handles routine government questions or directs people through services.²³

Footnotes

1. The Associated Press, “The Latest: Trump’s new AI-powered ‘America.gov’ pivots political answers moments after launch” ↩ ↩² ↩³ ↩⁴

2. Axios, “America.gov is live. Here's everything to know about Trump's new AI website” ↩ ↩² ↩³ ↩⁴ ↩⁵ ↩⁶

3. The Daily Beast, “Trump’s Own Website Calls BS on His Election Lies” ↩ ↩² ↩³ ↩⁴