New White House design team aims for ‘delightful’ websites — changing design ethos in the process

U.S. Chief Design Officer Joe Gebbia speaks during an event to "Celebrate the Implementation of the Dietary Guidelines for Americans" at the Health and Human Services Headquarters on February 11, 2026 in Washington, DC. Michael M. Santiago/Getty Images

Joe Gebbia wants to make the government’s websites better, more useful and more beautiful. They should be “delightful,” the billionaire Airbnb co-founder said recently on a podcast. 

Gebbia is the government’s first-ever chief design officer, a position created by President Donald Trump within the White House last summer. Previously an associate of Trump’s Department of Government Efficiency, Gebbia’s oft-repeated goal is to make the government on par with an Apple store. 

He’s aiming big: Gebbia’s team is working to reshape the government's main web design standards and use artificial intelligence to roll them out across the government. 

“Everybody can agree — it doesn’t ...