Trump Launches a US Government Chatbot. It’s Got Some Quirks
America.gov wants to answer questions about government services. Just don’t ask it to play Minecraft, or type in the word “hotdog.”
President Donald Trump unveiled a new AI-powered chatbot named America.gov on Tuesday, aiming to consolidate 29,000 government websites into one platform. The bot, utilizing Google Gemini and xAI’s Grok for its generative AI technologies, is designed to answer user queries about various services and tasks, such as applying for a passport or registering a vehicle.
According to Trump, "With America.gov, the entire government will fit in the palm of your hand," promising quick and easy answers. However, upon its launch, users quickly discovered quirks in the bot's responses.
America.gov provided information that contradicted statements made by the president and his administration. When queried about Joe Biden's 2020 presidential victory, the bot confirmed that Biden indeed won, in stark contrast to Trump's claims of a fraudulent election. Similarly, the bot affirmed the reality of climate change, despite Trump's persistent denial. The site also referred to the Pentagon as the "headquarters of the Department of Defense," a term Trump had renamed as the Department of War in September 2025.
The bot's responses took an unexpected turn when users inputted prompts like "hotdog" or "play Minecraft." The term "hotdog" transformed the text box into a graphic resembling a hot dog, which the bot's creators denied. Typing "play Minecraft" or "play the block game" led to the AI generating an irrelevant, lengthy monologue about a fictional scenario involving a "constituent" and a flat, infinite world.
The bot repeatedly denied using the word "constituent" or uttering any of the phrases it had just produced, despite clear evidence of the opposite.
The government's goal for America.gov is to offer basic information on common questions, sourced from government websites. However, future capabilities might include assisting with complex tasks like filling out and submitting forms, applying for Medicare coverage, and finding government job opportunities. While the bot currently serves as a one-stop shop for straightforward government queries, concerns about privacy and security persist, especially as it expands its capabilities and potentially handles sensitive personal information.
Written by urgent.news from CNET's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
