Is AI Ready For Your Residents? What We Know Going Into 2025

As AI has quickly gone from science fiction to everyday tech over the past several years, more and more organizations have made incorporating it into their operations a major priority. And as this trend continues to gain steam, senior living providers are feeling the pressure to nail down a resident-focused AI strategy of their own. 

But many leaders have approached AI investments with caution thus far, and understandably so. It’s important, after all, to understand the implications and potential unintended consequences of any emerging tech before putting it in residents’ hands.

Still, research shows an increase in familiarity (if not always comfort) with AI among older adults – and senior living communities can feel optimistic about incorporating it into their tech offerings for residents. The key is to do so with delicacy and deliberateness. Here’s what we know about this tech so far.

AI Is Already Transforming Senior Living

Whether they know it or not, much of the technology that many senior living residents are currently enjoying is powered by AI. For example:

• Smartwatches and other wearable health-monitoring devices might use AI to alert a diabetic when their blood sugar is low, helping enhance their safety.

• Resident portals may use AI to recommend life enrichment activities based on things residents have previously enjoyed.

• Popular voice assistants like Alexa and Siri help residents set reminders, access entertainment, ask about the weather, listen to community alerts, and more.

Considering that many residents are already familiar with these AI use cases, you can probably feel comfortable doubling down on their availability. Regardless of residents’ familiarity with this tech, however, it’s important to make sure they understand AI’s benefits. Older adults may have some skepticism about AI, but they tend to be more accepting when they can plainly see how it can enhance their lives.

Gen AI Is More Of A Special Case

When considering AI in senior living, it’s important to acknowledge the difference between traditional AI and Gen AI. While traditional AI may have several ready-for-primetime uses, Gen AI has much more to prove before it makes sense for widespread resident use (though your staff might benefit from it right now). Many older adults don’t know much about Gen AI at this point, which may inspire more skepticism – and wariness and mistrust do not lead to adoption. 

There’s also legitimate concern about older adults using Gen AI when the tech is so prone to “hallucinations”. When AI confidently spews misinformation, it’s often difficult to separate fact from fiction. That’s a concern for users of all ages, but it’s particularly dangerous for residents with memory impairments or declining cognitive faculties.

That being said, there may be room for some Gen AI for residents, at least in a limited capacity. For example, a Gen-AI-powered chatbot designed to conversationally answer common resident questions might be a worthwhile experiment (with guardrails, of course). But a more advanced tool that specifically targets resident wellness (like an AI companion to mitigate loneliness, for example) could be too risky at this still-early stage of the game.

AI In Senior Living Holds Lots of Promise – And A Few Challenges 

As the examples above show, AI-enabled technology has the ability to help residents feel safer, more connected, and more seen (thanks to the power of personalization). But senior living communities looking to incorporate AI successfully need to be smart about things like…

• Education and adoption. Be sure to help residents become more AI literate, so they understand not only the possibilities, but also the limitations and risks, of the technology. It’s also worth noting that education can also function to help build trust – an important factor when it comes to AI. 
• The human aspect of care. AI should always be used to enhance the quality of service and care you provide to residents, not to replace it.
• Data privacy and security. Always be on guard against AI that might put resident data at risk.

Heading into 2025, AI is still very much in its infancy as individuals and organizations alike continue to learn what it can and can’t do well. This is an especially important consideration when it comes to older adults. If your residents don’t feel a new AI tool is making things better, they’ll reject it – and it will be tough to get a second chance. 

For those senior living communities that have already rolled out resident-facing AI technology, continue to monitor adoption and acceptance rates as they consider new innovations. Those that have yet to dive in, meanwhile, may want to start by focusing on smaller and less intrusive experiments.

Get Your Residents Ready for AI

Whether you’re pursuing traditional or generative AI, the decision of whether and how to introduce this technology should be based on how it can positively impact your residents and their families. Jumping on the AI bandwagon just for the sake of doing so – or doing so without a solid rollout plan – is a great way to doom the technology to failure before it even has a chance with your residents.

But the right technology at the right time can make a real difference for your residents – and point you in the right direction for future AI innovations to come. If you want to get started with AI-powered senior living technology, Icon’s software could be a good place to start. From Calendar Central to our Bi-Directional Communication software, we’re weaving AI into more and more of our offerings. Get in touch to find out how they work and to talk about the possibilities for your community.