President Donald Trump's ambitious plan to "fill the digital potholes" and use artificial intelligence to rapidly redesign every government website is not going well. One year after the executive order established the National Design Studio (NDS), a temporary DOGE-like entity reporting only to the president, the "America by Design" initiative has produced websites described as AI-generated horrors, with design standards still pending updates.
NDS tasked with overhauling 27,000 .gov sites in three years
Last August, Trump created the National Design Studio to develop new standards for the US Web Design System (USWDS) and completely redesign 27,000 .gov domains within three years. The goal was to make the government's "design language" more usable and beautiful. However, the small team and tight timeline made the task nearly impossible, especially after DOGE deeply cut agencies previously responsible for improving government websites, including dismantling the 18F technology unit and restructuring the US Digital Service into DOGE.
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Early results show unusable interfaces and chaotic designs
AI-generated prototypes for several pilot sites feature confusing layouts, jarring colors, and illogical navigation, drawing sharp criticism from usability experts. Instead of simplifying access to public services, the new designs appear to complicate the user experience. The lack of human oversight and the rush to implement automated solutions have produced results that critics describe as senseless. This failure echoes other incidents where AI was applied without proper safeguards, such as the new attack on AI browsers that shows how safety guardrails can be bypassed.
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Comparison with international standards and the role of AI
While countries like the UK and Estonia have adopted gradual, user-centered approaches to digitizing public services, the American plan relies on a radical AI-driven transformation. Bypassing traditional design and testing processes has raised concerns about the project's sustainability. Furthermore, DOGE's cuts have stripped the initiative of the expertise needed to guide such a complex transition. To better understand the context of government design systems, refer to the Wikipedia page on the US Web Design System, which outlines previous standards.
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Delays and uncertainty about the project's future
According to internal sources, the 2027 deadline now appears unrealistic. The National Design Studio has yet to publish updated guidelines, and many .gov websites continue to operate with outdated interfaces. The White House has not officially commented, but rumors suggest a possible revision of the plan. In the meantime, American citizens are interacting with websites that, instead of improving, have worsened due to a hasty application of artificial intelligence.
