216: The One with the 2026 Adobe Digital Government Index (DGI)

Amita Prabhu, Senior Engagement Manager with Adobe’s Public Sector Digital Strategy Group joins the show to unpack the findings from the 2026 Digital Government Index (DGI)—Adobe’s annual benchmark of digital maturity across U.S. state governments. This year’s report saw AI readiness added to the index as the digital “front door” shifts from traditional search and government websites toward AI-generated answers. Together they explore what that shift means for government agencies competing to ensure residents receive authoritative, trustworthy information—not answers from outdated, third-party, or potentially fraudulent sources. The conversation also examines why overall digital progress is beginning to slow, despite meaningful gains in accessibility, and introduces the idea of “whack-a-mole government”: agencies solving one digital challenge only to create or expose another. Amita discusses the tradeoffs between accessibility and site performance, why point solutions can compound technology challenges, and how integrated approaches can help agencies improve the entire resident experience.