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It's easy to stereotype older adults as tech-averse or novice tech users. Yet a growing number of adults age 60 and older are embracing artificial intelligence, using it for entertainment, planning trips and even accessing health information.
I study how people interact with computers and technology—and specifically, how older adults use voice assistants and AI-powered chatbots like Amazon Alexa and ChatGPT to engage with information. Using AI for health information can be particularly fraught because chatbots can be so helpful in explaining complex medical information, but also risky if users automatically trust the responses they receive.
My research suggests that the most productive way of engaging with health information generated by an AI chatbot is from a position of informed skepticism—that is, remaining open-minded, yet using built-in features to evaluate the credibility and quality of chatbot responses.
About 1 in 5 adults turn to AI chatbots to ask questions about health, according to a 2025 survey of 300 adults. Questions might include asking about symptoms or seeking advice about diet and fitness. The chatbots might be mainstream services such as Claude, Gemini, ChatGPT or systems designed for a specific health provider.
People turn to these tools for many reasons. It can be easier to talk to a chatbot about sensitive topics, and chatbots reply almost instantaneously—much quicker than making an appointment to see your doctor weeks or months down the line.
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