Making AI Accessible: Co-Designing Generative AI Chatbot Training for Older Adults and People Living with Dementia
Claire Rogers
PhD Candidate
University of Strathclyde
Summary
Generative AI chatbots, such as ChatGPT and Gemini, have considerable potential to support independence, information access, and quality of life for older adults. Yet this potential remains largely unexplored. Our research has shown that, while many older adults do not currently use these tools, there is genuine interest in learning more. The barrier is often not willingness, but access to appropriate knowledge and support. Trustworthy, user-friendly, and accessible training designed specifically with older adults remains limited, while older adults continue to be systematically underrepresented in the design and deployment of emerging technologies—a phenomenon often described as digital ageism.
This poster presents an Economic and Social Research Council Impact Acceleration Account (ESRC IAA)-funded project in which we co-designed a suite of Generative AI training materials with older adults, including people with memory concerns, across Scotland. We worked with 46 people through an initial lived-experience consultation with the Neuroprogressive and Dementia Network Research Scotland (NDNRS) and four subsequent co-design workshops. Participants directly shaped the content, language, format, and design of three complementary resources: a printed booklet, an in-person workshop, and an online training portal. A further 10 older adults participated in a formal usability study of the portal, combining interaction metrics, System Usability Scale (SUS) scores, think-aloud data, and pre- and post-training attitudinal measures.
Grounded in Critical Geragogy, our aim is not to persuade older adults to use AI chatbots, but to provide accessible, co-developed information that enables people to make their own informed decisions about whether and how these technologies might be useful to them, and we provide training on how to use them if they decide to do so. Success is therefore defined not by AI uptake, but by improvements in confidence, knowledge, and self-efficacy. The usability study demonstrated above-average usability (mean SUS = 75.5), with 90% of participants completing the portal independently and all 10 successfully interacting with ChatGPT. Post-training responses also indicated increased confidence and a strong willingness to explore Generative AI further.
This work represents a first step towards developing fully co-designed, inclusive, and accessible Generative AI training for older adults. The next stage will extend this approach through direct co-design and evaluation with people living with early-stage dementia and Mild Cognitive Impairment (MCI).