How does an AI life story writing service for seniors work?
An AI life story writing service lets you tell your stories out loud instead of writing them. Elsy, an AI companion for older adults, gathers your stories in conversation and writes them up afterward, with your own words as quotes and a picture she paints. You can read your stories or listen to them, and send them to your family.
A life story writing service takes what you tell it about your life and turns it into written stories. Here's how that works when the writer is an AI companion like Elsy.
What is a life story writing service?
It's a service that helps older adults put their memories into words, so they can be kept and shared with family and friends. Looking back on your life can also do you good. Researchers have combined the results of 128 studies of reminiscence programs, where older adults look back on and talk about their lives. They found small to moderate improvements, including in how people felt about the meaning of their life, in their well-being and in how much they felt part of a community.
How do life story writing services work?
The service collects what you tell it and shapes it into a finished story. Many add pictures or sound clips to make the story more vivid. According to the US National Institute on Aging, research on activities such as music, theater, dance and creative writing has shown promise for improving quality of life and well-being, including better self-esteem, less stress and more social interaction, but more research is needed in these areas.
What an AI companion adds
With an AI companion like Elsy, you tell your stories in conversation, whenever it suits you. If you tell her more about the same time later, she adds it to the story after that conversation. The stories use your own words as quotes, and when Elsy tells them, they can include short excerpts of your own voice from the conversation. Elsy also learns words you teach her, like a word from your local dialect or how a name is pronounced.
Stories about what mattered to you
Elsy remembers what you tell her for later conversations, so you can come back to a family anecdote or an experience that matters to you and add more. She asks about what you tell her, so the story ends up being about what mattered to you.
How Elsy organizes your stories
Elsy writes the stories from your conversations and groups them by the periods of your life, such as your childhood and your working years, which makes them easy to find and share with your family. The people in Your circle can read the stories you send them. In the same conversations, Elsy can help with your day too, with reminders for appointments and medicines. See more about life stories with Elsy.
Sharing with your family
When a story is ready, tap Send to family at the bottom of the story, or ask Elsy to share it. That way the story doesn't stay with you alone, and it becomes part of your family's history. Age UK Oldham, which helps older people turn their memories into a life story book, says a life story can be cherished by the person and their family for generations. Read more about Elsy and your family.
How Elsy keeps your stories
Elsy stores your life stories securely, and your stored data is hosted in the EU. If you live in the UK or the EU, data protection law (the UK GDPR or the GDPR) applies to how your data is processed, as you can read in our privacy policy. Your stories are yours, and you can delete a story whenever you like.
Your data and your privacy
Your conversations are recorded and stored securely so Elsy can remember what you tell her. What you say is processed by AI services in the United States so Elsy can hear you, answer and remember, and the app shows you which ones before you start. We never sell your personal data, and we don't use it to train general-purpose AI models.
Your family never sees transcripts or recordings of your conversations, apart from the life stories you send them, which contain your own words and may include short excerpts of your voice. What else they can see depends on their level in Your circle, and at the highest level, Full trust, they also see what Elsy remembers about you. If a family member set Elsy up and gave consent on your behalf, everyone in your circle is at Full trust. Also read how to choose an AI app you can trust.
How to get started
Download Elsy from the App Store or Google Play. You can try Elsy free for 3 days on your own phone. See more about how Elsy works.
Your first conversation
Once the app is installed, tap Talk to Elsy and start talking, for example about where you grew up. If you need more help, see our support page.
“And I have to say, Elsy came as a real surprise. It's easy to say 'Elsy', but it's ten times simpler than it sounds.”
Helge, 72, talks with Elsy (translated from Danish)
Frequently asked questions
Where does Elsy store my stories?
Elsy stores your conversations and life stories securely, and your stored data is hosted in the EU. What you say is processed by AI services in the United States so Elsy can hear you, answer and remember. Your family never sees transcripts or recordings of your conversations, apart from the life stories you send them, which contain your own words and may include short excerpts of your voice. What else they see depends on their level in Your circle, from Stories only to Full trust, where they also see what Elsy remembers about you. If a family member set Elsy up and gave consent on your behalf, everyone in your circle is at Full trust.
What if Elsy gets something wrong in a story?
Tell Elsy in a conversation what should be different, or tap Ask Elsy to change something under the story. She corrects the story after the conversation, so it ends up the way you want it.
How do I start telling Elsy my life story?
Download Elsy from the App Store or Google Play, start a conversation and tell her about something from your life. She writes the story down afterward. You can try Elsy free for 3 days on your own phone.
This is general information, not medical advice. Every situation is different, so talk to a doctor about yours.