ChatGPT Isn’t Just for Younger Generations: How AI Could Empower Older People

When we talk about artificial intelligence (AI), the conversation often centres on younger generations, business productivity and technological innovation. Yet I believe one of AI’s most valuable opportunities lies elsewhere: helping older people live more independently, confidently and connectedly.

Having spent more than 28 years working across housing, retirement living and specialist care, I have seen that independence is about far more than accessible buildings and support services. It is also about confidence, choice, dignity and having the right support when it is needed.

Tools such as ChatGPT could make a meaningful difference.

Imagine an older person using ChatGPT to draft a message to family, learn how to use their smartphone, explore a lifelong interest or understand a complicated letter. It can explain unfamiliar subjects in plain English, help organise everyday tasks and encourage people to learn at their own pace.

For families and carers, AI can also help prepare questions for care reviews, explore housing options and organise information.

These may seem like small things, but they can help people feel more confident and maintain control over their everyday lives.

What the sector’s latest AI report tells us

The October 2026 AI State of the Nation Report – Specialist and Supported Housing, published by the Housing LIN, with legal insight from HCR Law, provides an important perspective.

Based on 41 survey responses, the report suggests that AI is already being used for administration, research and decision-making, with emerging applications in customer services, housing support, care and home safety.

However, adoption appears to be moving faster than organisational strategy, evaluation and resident involvement. Only five of the 40 respondents who answered the relevant question said residents or service users had been involved in decisions about AI adoption, design, testing or evaluation.

The report also highlights the scale of the digital inclusion challenge. Citing Age UK research, it notes that only 15% of people aged 65 and over in England are fully digitally included.

We must not assume that everyone can access, understand or feels comfortable using these technologies.

Technology must empower, not replace, people

For retirement living operators, developers and housing providers, the opportunity is to make AI accessible, relevant and optional.

That means providing practical guidance, involving residents from the outset, protecting personal information and ensuring that people can still access human support. AI should complement professional judgement and personal relationships, never replace them where safety, care or wellbeing is concerned.

We must also measure whether it genuinely improves outcomes. Saving staff time is useful, but the bigger question is whether that time is reinvested in better services, stronger relationships and improved resident experiences.

A challenge for the retirement living sector

Digital inclusion deserves to sit alongside physical accessibility in our approach to later life.

As leaders, we should ask not simply whether older people can use AI, but whether we are giving them the confidence, choice and opportunity to benefit from it.

The future of later living is not about replacing people with technology. It is about using technology to empower people.

Have you introduced ChatGPT or other AI tools to an older relative, resident or colleague? What has worked, what concerns remain, and how can our sector ensure older people help shape this emerging technology? I would welcome your views.

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If you found this interesting, check out the AI State of the Nation: Specialist and Supported Housing report by the Housing LIN/HCR Law and watch a recording of the launch event at the Housing LIN’s HAPPI Hour webinar on 8 October 2026.

Karl’s blog is one of a series of guest blogs by contributors following the AI report’s publication. You can also read the Housing LIN CEO’s blog here.

We are also hosting an upcoming TAPPI Hour webinar on Tuesday, 17 November, where we will be exploring the wider application of technology in specialist and supported housing, ahead of the digital switchover. Book your free place at: ‘Technology Unplugged: Delivering digital solutions’.