The American Customer Satisfaction Index (ACSI) Federal Government Study 2024 found that consumers' satisfaction with government services is at a seven-year high. In fact, the government experienced its largest gain in citizen satisfaction over a four-year period--a net 9.9 percent--since the ACSI began conducting these studies.
This rise in satisfaction is a result of a long-term, cross-administration focus on improving customer service to citizens. The bipartisan 21st Century Integrated Digital Experience Act was passed during the first Trump administration and enforced during the Biden administration. This law required agencies to modernize websites, digitize services and forms, accelerate the use of e-signatures, and adopt shared standards and services. Both administrations made customer experience core goals of their respective President's Management Agenda. The Biden administration issued a customer experience executive order that provided additional guidance and mandates for improving the quality of services the federal government delivers.
The steady increase in satisfaction is attributed to an improvement in the efficiency and ease of government processes as well as the clarity of information and how easy it was to access --all bipartisan goals championed by legislation and executive direction.
What the Numbers Mean
The government's satisfaction score is 69.7 out of 100. While this is a high for the government, the score still greatly lags behind most industries--including consumer shipping, retail, and finance, which all rank in the high 70s to low 80s.
Individual agencies' satisfaction ratings, however, do begin to come closer to those of consumer organizations. The Office of Personnel Management has the highest satisfaction score, at 76. Other top agencies include the Department of Homeland Security (74), the Department of Agriculture (73), and the Department of Commerce (72). The Department of the Treasury, home to the Internal Revenue Service (IRS), had the government's lowest ACSI score, at 61. The IRS has been focused on improving citizen experience, though, launching new online applications and increasing headcount for customer service.
Mixed Findings
This most recent survey provided insight on how the communications channel government uses impacts satisfaction. Online experiences were rated higher than call center experiences, with the website satisfaction index 10 points higher than that for call centers.
The survey also found that complaints filed by citizens with the federal government have risen exponentially. The good news is the government is better able to deal with complaints. The data show that government's ability to handle complaints has improved 15 points over the past three years. Government is now ranked higher than 18 industries--including subscription TV service, food delivery, internet service providers, social media, and automobiles--when it comes to managing complaints.
To learn more about government's efforts to improve customer service, check out these events and resources:
- GovEssentials 2025: AI in Action - Practical Applications Transforming the North American Public Sector (February 20, 2025; webcast) - This session delves into real-world applications of AI that are delivering measurable success and explores how public sector leaders can embrace these advancements to drive innovation in their agencies.
- 2025 CX Leaders Advance (April 28-30, 2025; Indianapolis, IN) - This event is designed for CX professionals at corporations, healthcare organizations, government agencies, nonprofits, etc.
- 2025 Digital Transformation Summit (April 30, 2025; TBD) - This event serves as a hub for public and private sector executives and leaders who want to drive impactful, technology-forward solutions in service of critical national priorities.
- Elevating Government CX to Meet the Needs of Today's Digital Citizens (white paper) - The U.S. government has recently introduced a set of initiatives aimed at improving the customer experience (CX) of its online public services. However, engineering teams' intent on making government sites and user applications more user-friendly, trustworthy, and responsive face a unique set of challenges, including unusually strict protocols and high-security standards, data siloing, and more.
- How to Responsibly and Effectively Use Artificial Intelligence in Government (white paper) - The overarching goal of improving citizen experience is a shift to seeing citizens as customers and implementing private sector-type practices in responding to requests and needs. While there may not be an alternative for citizen customers to choose when it comes to government services, agencies must adopt the competitive mindset of the private sector in how they deliver services to build trust in government.
- Delay Government: How Technology Can Fix Slow Federal Service Delivery (white paper) - The U.S. federal government currently operates as a delay government because many of the critical services it provides to customers are delivered too inefficiently and slowly through a bureaucracy of complex procedures, manual processes, outdated technology, and insufficient staffing.
Additional examples of and guidance for customer service in government can be found on GovEvents and GovWhitePapers.
