President Trump's plan to "fill the digital potholes" and use AI to quickly redesign every government website is facing significant challenges. Last August, Trump created the National Design Studio (NDS) by executive order — a DOGE-like entity tasked with creating new standards to update the US Web Design System and overhaul 27,000 .gov websites in three years. However, about a year into NDS's existence, the team has accomplished very little. Its biggest achievement has been modernizing the federal retirement system, though former government workers have accused the administration of claiming "false victories." The group's other output has been meager, with substantial backlash from design experts who argue the team relies too heavily on AI and has failed to test sites for ADA compliance. Most agencies are now resisting connecting with the team about adopting new web standards. Ars conducted a comprehensive review of launched sites and found that most consist of single pages with sign-up forms. Several newly registered domains (live.gov, onlyfarms.gov, aliens.gov, why.gov) currently redirect to legacy sites. The only other site of similar scope is merrychristmas.gov, described as an apparent vanity project.
Trump's plan to redesign every .gov website leads to AI-designed horrors
updated at June 30, 2026