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But while the upgrade is designed to make access to information simpler, the chatbot itself soon became a talking point during the launch. Some of its initial answers on political and government-related issues did not match statements Trump has made publicly, and the way it responded to certain questions changed soon after.
What can you do with America.gov’s new AI tool?
Here, the biggest change is the ability to search for federal government information by simply asking the website a question. Instead of knowing which government agency handles a particular issue or searching through several websites, you can use the AI tool to find relevant information in one place.
The chatbot is designed to pull information from official government sources, so you can ask it about different government-related subjects and get a response without manually going through multiple federal portals. During early testing, the tool was able to provide information about subjects including presidential elections, term limits, the Pentagon, climate change and presidential salaries.
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This means the upgrade could be particularly useful when you know what information you need but are unsure where to find it. You can ask a direct question and use the response as a starting point for navigating federal information and services.
What happened to the AI during the launch?
The chatbot's early responses, however, attracted attention of their own. When asked about the 2020 presidential election, it initially said official federal sources did not show that widespread fraud had changed the result, while noting that isolated election crimes had occurred and been prosecuted. It also said the 22nd Amendment prevents a person from being elected president more than twice and noted that Trump had won elections in 2016 and 2024.
The AI identified the Pentagon as the headquarters of the Department of Defence. On climate change, it said federal climate-science information attributes recent warming largely to human greenhouse-gas emissions, particularly from fossil fuels, while also acknowledging natural climate changes over longer periods.
It further said George Washington, Herbert Hoover, John F. Kennedy and Trump had declined presidential salaries.
However, some responses did not align with statements Trump has made publicly. As the launch continued, the website began refusing to answer some questions, saying it could not respond to “political questions”. The same response appeared when users asked whether Trump had been impeached or convicted of felony charges.