AI governance. Digital modernisation. Citizen-first experiences. On 5 February, leaders from across government and industry gathered at the 16th annual Adobe Government Forum in Washington, D.C. The conversations were practical, candid and focused on what’s working right now.
Here's a recap of this year’s Adobe Government Forum sessions, including key takeaways and insights.
“Across government, leaders are preparing for a new era defined by AI governance, digital sovereignty and modernisation at scale — all while citizen expectations continue to rise.”
David Justice
GM and VP, Americas, Adobe
Opening keynote: AI has moved from experiment to operations.
Why it matters: Government agencies are no longer asking if they should use AI, but how to deploy it safely, responsibly and at scale.
“AI is no longer experimental, it has crossed into real operational impact.”
David Justice
GM and VP, Americas, Adobe
David Justice, GM and VP, Americas at Adobe, framed this moment as one of the most consequential technology shifts in decades. His message was clear: operational AI demands commercially safe models, strong data governance and enterprise-grade‑ security.
Big announcement: Edge Delivery Services in Adobe Experience Manager as a Cloud Service is now available in FedRAMP‑authorised environments, expanding secure access to high‑authorisation environments and ensuring high‑performance digital experience delivery for federal agencies.
Watch Opening Keynote: Adobe’s Commitment to Public Sector.
Fireside chat: Federal CIOs on AI, innovation and website design.
Why it matters: Successful AI adoption starts with fixing processes and designing digital services for real people.
“I’m looking for design to be based around the least technical user, not the most sophisticated technical user. That’s a big key priority.”
Gregory Barbaccia
Federal CIO, Office of Management and Budge
Federal CIO, Gregory Barbaccia and Former Federal CIO, Suzette Kent, shared practical guidance on rolling out AI responsibly. Their advice emphasised the following:
- Start with process improvement, not tools.
- Focus early use cases on low-risk, high‑value applications like translation and summarisation.
- Shift from siloed websites to citizen-centred digital design.
Standout theme: Federal website design must prioritise the least technical user, not the most advanced.
Watch Fireside Chat: Federal CIO iInsights on AI and Innovation.
Beyond bureaucracy: What public services can learn from the private sector.
Why it matters: Whether public or private, organisations face the same customer expectations — speed, clarity and trust.
Leaders from Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority and Brightline shared how they modernise complex, highly-regulated environments while keeping customer experience front and centre.
Key takeaways:
- Centralising content and data enables real-time updates and better rider communication.
- Cloud-based platforms help break down silos.
- Strong partnerships accelerate innovation without sacrificing safety.
Watch Beyond Bureaucracy: Lessons from the Private Sector to Enhance Public Services
Inside the Adobe Experience Centre.
Why it matters: Seeing AI tools in action builds confidence and clarity.
Throughout the day, attendees explored hands-on demos focused on AI‑powered productivity, content creation and orchestration. The emphasis wasn’t on future vision, it was on tools agencies can use today.
Breakout sessions: Practical AI in action.
Track 1: Creativity and content trust
Why it matters: Trust is the foundation of government communication in an AI-driven era.
Citizen-first content in an AI world.
Adobe introduced Content Credentials, helping agencies signal authenticity, provenance and transparency in digital content.
Watch Citizen First Content: Building Trust in an AI-driven Era.
Orchestrating content at scale.
The FBI shared how it delivers consistent, on-brand communications across 56 field offices while enabling local flexibility and faster compliance.
Watch Orchestrating Content for Scale, Speed and Impact.
Delivering on-brand agency content, faster.
United States Postal Service leaders showed how democratised design tools help teams publish trusted content quickly without sacrificing governance.
Watch Deliver On-brand Content Quickly and at Scale to Build Public Trust.
“We deliver to everyone, every day and we try to meet them in their environment. It’s about consistency…and having similar messaging and brand experiences on dot com and in our physical environments.”
Chris Karpenko
Executive Director of Brand Marketing, USPS
Track 2: Experience and human-centred design
Why it matters: AI delivers the greatest impact when it supports, not replaces, people.
This panel focused on designing citizen-first digital experiences, emphasising relationships over transactions and outcomes over outputs. Speakers reinforced that AI‑assisted human work consistently outperforms AI‑only approaches.
Watch Designing Digital Experiences for a Citizen-First Government.
“On its own, AI isn’t better. But when you use it as a support for humans, the outcomes are incredible.”
Justin Brown
Former Secretary of Human Services for the State of Oklahoma and CEO of Brown Global Consulting
Track 3: Productivity and web modernisation
Why it matters: AI can dramatically reduce time spent on manual tasks, freeing teams to focus on mission outcomes.
AI-powered web modernisation.
Adobe leaders Peter Parker, Mike Clawson and Diana Breen discussed the agentic web and how modernising with AI can change the way agencies deliver experiences to their constituents. Watch this session for a demo on how agentic AI supports discoverability, governance and site optimisation while meeting EO 14338 and 21st Century Integrated Digital Experience Act requirements.
Watch AI-Powered Web Modernisation: Advancing EO14338 and 21st Century IDEA.
From documents to insights.
Adobe’s Heather Whitlock and Tony DiCuffa explored how AI capabilities can change the way agencies and citizens work with documents. Watch this session to learn how new AI capabilities in Adobe Acrobat help agencies summarise, analyse and repurpose large document sets, cutting review time and boosting productivity.
Watch From Documents to Insights. AI-Powered Productivity for Public Sector Teams.
Driving public impact with data.
State of Oklahoma’s Chief AI and Technology Officer Tai Phan sat down with Adobe’s Chris Lim to share how data, automation and process redesign work together to unlock real productivity gains.
“When we put the customer journey at the centre of how we operate, it’s no longer aspirational — it immediately becomes operational. This is the difference between designing for deployment and functionality versus designing for delight.”
Tai Phan
Chief AI and Technology Officer, State of Oklahoma
Watch Driving Public Impact: Unlocking Productivity Through Data-Driven Insights.
Closing keynote: Responsible, human-centred AI at scale.
“We’re starting to see the full promise of generative AI into agentic.”
Emily McReynolds
Head of Global AI Strategy, Adobe
Why it matters: Trust, accountability and governance determine whether AI succeeds in government.
Matte Lira, Executive Director, Invest America, led the forum’s closing panel conversation with Emily McReynolds, Head of Global AI Strategy, Adobe and Tai Phan, Chief AI and Technology Officer. The conversation centred on what responsible, human-centred AI should look like at scale and how agencies can embrace it while building trust.
Watch Closing Keynote: The Future of AI and Government.
Missed the event? Watch every session on-demand.
Visit Adobe’s government solutions webpage to learn how Adobe supports secure, compliant and citizen-first government experiences.
Brian Chidester is the Head of Industry Strategy for the Public Sector at Adobe and the host of The Government Huddle with Brian Chidester podcast from GovExec. Previously, he served as Industry Vice President for Global Public Sector at Genesys and has held leadership roles with OpenText, Arrow ECS and S&P Global. Chidester holds a B.S. in Communications Studies from Liberty University. He is a board member for the University of South Florida-Muma College of Business, an advisor to the G20 Global Smart Cities Alliance at the World Economic Forum and a member of the Forbes Technology Council.
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