Original Broadcast Date: 10/25/2026
Sponsored by Maximus
Mary Bati, Chief Information Officer at the National Design Studio, joins Fed Gov Today to discuss the September 29 launch of America.gov, the partnerships making the platform possible, and how the government plans to expand its capabilities.
For Bati, the launch represents an important milestone, but the work is far from finished.
The goal is not simply to create another federal website. It is to fundamentally rethink how Americans interact with their government.
Bati identifies the General Services Administration as one of the National Design Studio's most important partners.
GSA supports the infrastructure behind America.gov, and Bati credits Ed Forrest and his team for helping bring the initial platform online.
That partnership continues as the National Design Studio develops new functionality and works with agencies interested in participating.
Bati says some agencies begin engaging with the National Design Studio before the launch, while others reach out after seeing the platform become operational.
For an initiative that aims to connect services across government, that engagement is essential.
Bati explains that her team is focused on meeting agencies where they are and understanding how their existing capabilities can contribute to a better experience for the public.
The National Design Studio does not expect every agency to complete its own modernization journey before participating.
Instead, Bati says agencies can begin by making their data and application programming interfaces available.
That approach allows America.gov to connect people with existing government services while agencies continue improving their own systems.
A central part of Bati's vision is simplifying how Americans navigate government.
Today, people often need to understand which agency administers a particular service before they can begin accessing it.
America.gov aims to change that experience by creating a common entry point.
Bati emphasizes that the National Design Studio does not take ownership of the underlying government functions.
For example, the State Department remains responsible for passport adjudication.
America.gov instead provides a front-end experience that helps customers navigate to the services they need.
This distinction matters because it allows agencies to maintain responsibility for their missions while participating in a more connected governmentwide experience.
Bati says the goal is to make federal services accessible through an application that is secure, intuitive, and designed around the customer.
She acknowledges that governmentwide service gateways are not a new idea.
Federal agencies have pursued similar concepts for years.
What makes the current effort different, she explains, is the combination of leadership support, agency participation, GSA's partnership, and emerging technological capabilities.
Bati also points to advanced AI capabilities as an opportunity to make complex government information easier for people to understand.
Although the next major phase is associated with 2027, Bati makes clear that improvements will not wait until then.
The National Design Studio is already working on additional capabilities, with new iterations planned throughout the coming weeks.
One of the most important developments is secure login integration.
Bati describes a future in which Americans enter through America.gov, authenticate securely, and access a range of federal services without navigating multiple disconnected websites.
That experience could help people who are uncertain whether they need to contact Social Security, Medicare, or another federal organization.
Rather than requiring customers to understand the government's organizational structure, the platform aims to guide them toward the appropriate service.
Bati identifies this integration as a major element of the next phase.
She also discusses the State Department's online passport initiative.
According to Bati, an initial phase of online passport functionality is expected in December, with a much broader ability for Americans to apply online anticipated by the end of 2027.
But she stresses that passport services represent only one part of the larger America.gov vision.
For Bati, the ultimate measure of success is not simply how many services become available online.
It is how much time Americans save.
She wants the platform to reduce the effort required to navigate government services and make those interactions more convenient.
That means thinking beyond traditional digitization.
Instead of merely moving existing processes online, Bati describes an approach centered on bringing government services closer to the people who need them.
She also emphasizes the role of design in making that possible.
The National Design Studio combines engineering expertise with a deliberate focus on how people experience technology.
That design-first approach influences how the team builds and improves America.gov.
As agencies continue engaging with the platform, Bati expects additional services and capabilities to emerge.
The work is iterative, and she says the team is moving quickly to build on the initial launch.
For Bati, America.gov's future depends on maintaining that momentum while bringing more federal agencies into the effort.
The result she hopes to achieve is a government experience that is simpler, more secure, and easier for Americans to navigate.