What can you use an AI assistant for?
An AI assistant can help with much of what you might otherwise ask another person: answers to questions, recipes, help with letters, reminders for medicines and appointments, and someone to talk to during the day. You get the most out of it when you ask the questions you would never have asked anyone else.
Most people trying an AI assistant for the first time start with something cautious, like the weather or the capital of a country. That's a fine start. But you'll get much more out of it once it becomes part of your daily life.
Questions you'd otherwise keep to yourself
There are all sorts of questions you might never get around to asking. Some feel too small to bother anyone with, others feel embarrassing. An AI assistant doesn't judge. Just choose an app that's clear about what happens to what you tell it. See our guide to choosing an AI app you can trust.
“But you know yourself how much the fear of asking limits what you can find out.”
Helge, 72, talks with Elsy (translated from Danish)
Practical help with everyday things
Here's what people actually use an AI assistant for:
- Answers to questions. Anything from "how do I store new potatoes?" to "what does this word in my doctor's letter mean?"
- Recipes and meals. Tell it what's in your fridge and get ideas for dinner.
- Help with writing. Get a draft of a tricky message, a birthday greeting or a complaint to an insurance company.
- Reminders. Medicines, appointments and errands. Some assistants can remind you at set times.
- Explanations. Have the news, official letters or technical things explained in plain words.
- Conversation. Talk over your day with someone who has time to listen. A small study of older adults living alone found that talking with an AI gave several of them a sense of having someone to talk to. It doesn't replace real people, but it can help at times when nobody else is around.
Advice from outside the family
There's one more thing people rarely mention: some advice is easier to take from someone outside the family.
“That's what's so interesting: it's other people telling me something I wouldn't dream of listening to if it came from you, Morten. But if it comes from Elsy, it's impartial.”
Helge, 72, talks with Elsy; Morten is his son (translated from Danish)
A word of caution
Ask the assistant anything you like when you want to learn something, but follow Age UK's advice: never give an AI your passwords or your bank account number, and keep other sensitive details, like your Social Security number, to yourself. Check important answers before you base a decision on them. When it's about your health or your money, the AI's answer is good preparation for talking to your doctor or your bank, not a replacement for that conversation.
This is general information, not medical advice. Every situation is different, so talk to a doctor about yours.