According to the National Association of State Technology Directors’ (NASTD) 2025 Constituent Experience: State Government IT Strategies survey, 68 percent of states either have a unified resident portal or are in the process of building one. These portals are generally created to centralize services that were previously siloed within different government agencies.
Craig Felchle, a member of the NASTD Research Committee and North Dakota’s chief technology officer, said the push for unified portals is part of a broader trend toward personalized digital experiences. It is, he said, part of an “Amazon-like portal where things are personalized and easier to use.”
When it comes to gathering and acting on resident input, progress appears more limited. Only 15 percent of responding states said they had fully integrated resident feedback into decision-making and service improvement efforts. Nearly half, or 49 percent, reported partial integration and 36 percent had not integrated it at all.
The survey findings raise the question: Why hasn’t feedback collection and integration kept pace? Felchle pointed out several common hurdles.
“Time or financial resources to integrate those systems plays a part, and feedback loops come at a price,” he said.
The survey, done in January, collected responses from 41 states and was developed by senior IT leaders on NASTD’s Research Committee. The committee is comprised of people from different states in C-suite or senior leadership roles, Whitney Wilgus, NASTD executive director, said. Survey creators essentially set out to uncover how government digital services are shaping resident experiences — particularly in the wake of NASTD’s 2024 AI-focused survey.
One clear takeaway is that states are leaning heavily into new technology while navigating the challenges of resident engagement. One technology showing particular growth is artificial intelligence. More than 60 percent of states have either already incorporated AI into people-facing services or are actively working toward that. For those currently deploying AI, chatbots are the most common use case — with about 95 percent of states using AI implementing chatbots to help answer resident questions and improve service delivery. Beyond chatbots, states are also turning to AI for more specialized applications, with 50 percent using AI-powered contact center solutions and 41 percent employing the technology for fraud detection.
The survey showed the growing reliance on AI isn’t just about improving efficiency — it’s also helping states make digital services more inclusive, with accessibility emerging as a key priority. Seventy-eight percent of states that participated in the survey noted they offer services in multiple languages.
Privacy is another key area of focus for states as they continue modernizing digital services. According to the survey, 56 percent of states have integrated data protection measures into their work on resident experience — a sign data protection is being built into system designs.
To help build on this progression and advance privacy strategies, Felchle suggested starting with the basics.
“Sometimes the easiest hurdle is just to start with transparency, focusing on how data is being used and where we have consent,” he said, noting more states are naming chief privacy officers and embedding “privacy by design” into their broader modernization strategies.
Despite progress, states continue to grapple with familiar challenges around advancing digital resident services. Echoing Felchle’s comments, many states identified financial or budget constraints as the most significant barrier, followed by limited expertise and persistent technical hurdles.
To help overcome these obstacles, many states are shifting toward more adaptable implementation strategies designed to work within financial limitations.
“I think one of the strategies I see a lot is taking a phased approach to some of the implementations,” Felchle said. “When getting something off the ground, continuously iterating and improving on that, and then drawing from continued success as we see those benefits being realized for our states.”
States are actively learning from each other, Wilgus said, “or they’re just sharing ideas or open source tools. That way, nobody is having to reinvent the wheel and start from scratch.”
Looking ahead, 95 percent of states identified expanding self-service options and digital accessibility as a top priority, followed closely by efforts to reduce response times and improve data security. Many entities are also focusing on mobile app development, personalized services powered by AI, and implementing more sophisticated tools for collecting and responding to resident feedback.
Felchle offered additional recommendations to states hoping to strengthen their resident experience: “Simple things like having champions across all of your stakeholder bases and using effective change management techniques — those are just really simple items that will allow you to take those first few steps to be successful.”
Wilgus agreed, noting success ultimately requires more than just tech. “Treating constituent experience as a cultural shift and rewarding innovation and those constituent-centered practices,” she said, will help states create digital services that truly resonate.
