Vote Smart Launches Civic Sage, a Nonpartisan AI Chatbot to Combat Political Misinformation

Backed by 30+ years of trusted political research, Civic Sage delivers verified facts about candidates and elected officials without the spin

DES MOINES, Iowa, April 28, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Vote Smart, the nonprofit organization that has provided free, factual, unbiased information about political candidates and elected officials since 1992, introduces its newest tool, Civic Sage. An AI-powered political chatbot designed to give every American instant, nonpartisan access to verified facts about the candidates and issues that affect them, without spin or partisan agenda, Civic Sage is available now at www.votesmart.org/civic-sage.

In an era of rampant misinformation, partisan media and social media manipulation, finding clear, relevant and trustworthy facts about politics and government has never been more challenging - or more critical. While more Americans are using AI assistants and chatbots than ever before, contradictorily, they are deeply hesitant and mistrustful of the technology. And perhaps with good reason, as it has been shown that these agents can be powerful tools for swaying political opinion, subject to generating speculative, biased or unverified political content. Civic Sage was developed in direct counterpoint to this, as the answer to what Americans have been craving from AI assistants: a plain-language AI chatbot built to inform, not influence.

“We've spent over thirty years proving that facts about politics don't have to come with a side of spin,” said Dr. Kyle Dell, Executive Director of Vote Smart. “Civic Sage brings that same commitment into the age of AI with a tool that is built to give citizens the knowledge they need to govern themselves. In a world full of rage, we're proud to offer something different. All sage, no rage.”

Civic Sage allows users to ask plain-language questions and receive accurate, sourced answers drawn only from Vote Smart’s trusted database of independent research and reporting. Whether a voter wants to know how their senator voted on a recent bill, what positions a gubernatorial candidate has taken on key issues or what special interest groups have rated a sitting representative, Civic Sage delivers that information clearly and without editorial bias. The introduction of this newest tool provides an important new layer of accessibility to Vote Smart’s trusted resources, designed to lower friction, personalize civic learning and strengthen democratic connection.

For more information about Vote Smart, and Civic Sage, please visit www.votesmart.org.

About Vote Smart
Founded by former Presidents Carter and Ford, along with 40 other national leaders across the political spectrum, Vote Smart is a non-partisan, non-profit organization dedicated to defending each citizen's right to factual information about those who govern. Funded nearly entirely by individual contributions and foundation grants, Vote Smart continues to be a beacon of transparency in American politics. With its newest tool, Civic Sage, Vote Smart continues to bridge the gap between everyday Americans and political insiders through natural conversation that pulls from a deep database of nonpartisan information.

About Civic Sage
Civic Sage is Vote Smart's nonpartisan political chatbot, built on 34 years of independent research and designed around what it deliberately does not do. Unlike general-purpose AI tools that draw from the open internet, Civic Sage operates exclusively within Vote Smart's verified database, governed by the same research standards that have guided the organization since 1992. It does not generate opinions, arguments or persuasive content. It does not speculate beyond the record. Its strength, by design, is its limits. Every response is grounded in factual, nonpartisan source material trusted by journalists, researchers, educators and policy professionals — now made accessible in plain language to anyone who wants to understand their democracy.

Media Contact
communications@votesmart.org

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