2026老年群体AI应用研究报告

Understandingoldergenerations,adoptionof

AIExecutivesummary01

WhyAIupskilling

matters

for

olderadults02Whatolderadults

know,

and

donItyet

know03Howolder

adults

areincorporatingAI

indaily

life04Howolderadults

perceive

its

risksand

benefits05What’s

next?Acknowledgmentsand

referencesContent2Executive

summaryAsartificialintelligence(AI)

increasinglyshapes

daily

life,ensuringoldergenerations

are

not

left

behind

isa

criticalinclusionchallenge.This

report

explores

how

peopleaged60-85

engagewithand

experience

AI,drawingonaglobalsurvey

of

2,515

respondentsacross

16countries,

plusexpertinterviews

and

focus

groups

inJapanand

India.Findingsshowolderadults

are

generally

lessfamiliar

andconfidentwithAIyet

remain

curious

andwilling

to

learn.Only24%

reported

beingquite

orvery

familiar

withAI,whilejust

15%

had

nointerestin

furtherengagement.

Usagevariesdepending

oncontext.Forexample,inthe

Middle

East,

Africa,

India

region,

41%statedtheywerequite

orveryfamiliar

withAI;whereasonly

12%

ofNorthAmericans

statethesame.

Similarly,agender

gapemerged:

31%

of

women

had

never

usedAIin

comparison

to

20%

of

men.ExperiencesofAIare

largely

positive:

around

60%

of

respondentswereeithersomewhatorvery

positiveaboutthelikelyimpact

ofAI

on

themselves,

especially

in

learning,

health,travel,andcreativeapplications.UsersareawarethatAI

outputs

can

be

inaccurate,

thoughunderstanding

ofsubtler

riskslike

bias

islimited.Thereportconcludesthatolder

adults

are

optimisticaboutAIbut

needtargeted

support

to

engage

safelyandconfidently.

Policymakers,educators,

businesses,

andcommunity

organizations

mustprovideaccessible,

age-appropriate

AI

literacyandinclusivedesign

toprevent

digitalexclusionandsupport

wellbeing,

autonomy,and

participation

inlater

life.301WhyAI

upskillingmattersfor

olderadults4MethodologyThefoundationalelementofthereport

isthe

outputfromanonlinesurveythatexploresolder

generations'attitudes

and

use

of

AI.From29October2025

to

13

November2025,the

survey

collected2,515responses

drawn

evenly

from

16countries

across

fiveregions:

Middle

East,AfricaandIndia(MEAI);Asia-Pacific;Europe;

Latin

America;andNorth

America.The

age

of

respondentsranged

from60to85years

old.The

surveywascomplementedbyinterviewswith

selectexperts

and

two

focus

groups

in

Japan

andIndia

with

people

aged

between

60

and85.This

survey

built

upon

several

existing

AIliteracyframeworkspreviouslytestedby

EY

amongGenZ(EY2024),

which

havea

focuson

generative

AI,the

largest

category

of

AIcurrently

used

in

the

workplace(EY

2023).Generative

AI

refers

to

AI

tools

that

usealgorithms

and

machine

learning

techniquesto

analyze

patterns

in

data

to

generate

newoutputs.AI

was

used

in

translating

open-endedresponsesfromnon-English

languagesinto

English

and

thematically

grouping

open-

text

responses;itwasnot

used

in

anyquantitativeanalysis.One

note:Thissurveywasundertakenentirelyonline,highlightingtheimportantissue

ofdigital

inclusion,as

clearly

only

thosewith

internet

access

and

basiccomputersavvinesscouldparticipate.Ensuring

digital

inclusion

for

all

willbeafundamentalpartof

deliveringan

AI

just

transition.As

artificial

intelligence(AI)reshapesnearly

every

facet

of

modern

life,society’s

adaptation

to

these

changes

is

becoming

a

question

not

only

oftechnological

progress

but

also

ofinclusion.One

demographic

remains

under-discussed:older

generations.New

researchcommissionedby

EY

Ripplesexamines

how

people

from

60to85years

oldengage

with

AI.With

the

share

of

the

globalpopulation

over

the

age

of65

having

doubledbetween

1974and2024(United

NationsPopulation

Fund2026),failing

to

ensure

digitalinclusioncouldmarginalizethisgroup,affectingtheirautonomy,socialparticipation,andqualityoflife.Conversely,creating

AI

that

meets

their

needsis

a

major

opportunity

for

businesses

andgovernment.Recentdatafromthe

United

Kingdom—indicativeof

global

trends—show

that

a

significant

number

ofolder

generations

lack

basic

digital

skills:morethanathirdcannotcompletefundamentaltasks

suchassetting

upWi-Fiormanaging

passwords;others

simply

do

not

use

the

internet

at

all(AgeUK2024).This

highlights

a

stark

“digital

divide”that

could

deepen

in

the

age

of

AI.This

report

explores

older

generations’

awarenessand

understanding

of

AI,including

barriers

toengagement.

It

also

considers

how

improving

AIliteracyamongoldergenerationscouldunlocksignificant

benefits,and

how

failure

to

do

so

maydeepen

inequalities

at

a

time

when

society

andservices

increasingly

assume

digital

competence.01WhyAI

upskillingmattersforolder

adults502Whatolder

adultsknow,and

donItyetknow6Older

people’s

understanding

about

AI

varies

bycontext.They

show

high

awareness

of

where

AI

isclearly

involved-93%correctly

identified

it

incustomer

chatbots-but

lower

awareness

where

itis

not,with43%

incorrectly

believing

it

is

used

informulas

in

spreadsheets(Figure

1).One

explanation

is

that

people

tend

to

anchor

theirunderstanding

of

AI

to

highly

publicized

tools,which

makes

it

easier

to

recognize

AI

involvingvisibleautomationorinteraction,suchaschatbots.By

contrast,familiar

and

less

dynamictools

like

formulas

in

spreadsheets

are

oftenmisclassified

due

to

automation

bias

whereintelligenceisoverattributedtoautomatedsystems.A

range

of

factors

are

likely

to

explain

thisvariation.For

example,unlike

the

United

States

orCanada,the

UAE

ranksamongtheworld’stopcountriesfore-governmentdevelopment(UnitedNations

Departmentof

EconomicandSocialAffairs2024),which

may

have

impacted

theoveralldigitalliteracyofoldergenerations.TheEYAISentiment

Index(EY

2026)shows

older

generations

have

a

lowerlevelofcomfortwithAIcomparedtoyounger

generations:baby

boomersand

the

silent

generation

have

a

score

of55and45out

of

100respectively,

whereasGenZand

Millennialsscorehigher

at69and73respectively,and

GenX

scores64.Among

the

respondents

for

this

new

study,

only24%indicated

they

were

quite

or

very

familiar

withAI,with69%choosing

a

little

or

somewhatfamiliar.Familiarity

changes

depending

onlocation.Those

in

the

Middle

East,Africa

and

India(MEAI)region

expressed

the

highest

familiarity,with41%stating

they

were

quite

or

very

familiarwith

AI;whereas

only

12%of

North

Americansstate

the

same.“Iamgetting

annoyedbycompanies’customerservices

obviouslyusingAItoreplytoaquestionorcomplaint.

Suchreplies

areobviouslyAIgenerated

astheyarelong

andcontainnousefulinformation.Surveyrespondent,aged

7602Whatolderadults

know,

anddonIt

yet

know“IwantAItohelpmeliveahealthy,wealthyand

wiselife.Iwantrazorsharpintelligence.Focusgrouprespondent,IndiaThe

EY

AI

Sentiment

Index

is

a

composite

score

of

their

comfort

with

AI.7AI

literacyamongolder

generationsMoving

beyond

self-reported

perceptions,inspiredbyTheAILit

Framework

(OECD2025),our

report

tested

aspects

of

AIliteracyamongoldergenerations,includingtheirabilitytoevaluateAIusing

knowledge

ofits

limitations

and

risks.(Figure

2).Encouragingly,80%ofrespondents

answeredthequestion“Noteverything

produced

byAIhas

been

checked

to

make

sure

it

is

true,”correctlysuggestingahealthy

andwidespread

caution

regarding

AI

outputs.A

chatbot

that

immediately

answers

customer

questions

3%4%A

system

that

generates

text

based

on

instructions

6%

7%Product,service

and

content

recommendationsbasedonprevious

preferences

onsocial

mediasomeone

you

know

10%

10%Smarthomedevices

10%14%faces

or

fingerprints

to

provide

access

11%

17%identify

spam

messages

16%

17%Figure

1:Oldergenerationscancorrectly

identifycommon

usesof

AI

in

day-to-day

products

and

services

but

show

somesignsofautomation

bias.Whichofthefollowingcommonly

involve

AI?But

digging

further,answers

become

lessreassuring;for

example,only41%answeredthe

question“AI

systems

can

reflect

biases

insocietywhentrainedondatathatcontainsthem”correctly,suggestingless

knowledge

aboutmorediscrete

limitationsof

AIAIisinvolved93%87%80%80%77%72%68%Cruise

control

systems

in

carsFormulasinspreadsheetsBarcodesscannersused

instores

Idon't

knowAI

is

not

involvedAI

is

involvedN

=

251522%20%18%28%37%44%50%43%38%Digital

security

systems

that

scan

individual'sAnaudioorvideomessage

impersonatingE-mail

services

that

automaticallyAI

is

notinvolved11%

9%froma

user8Ofrespondentscorrectlysaid

that“GenerativeAIsystemscanconvincingly

imitate

thevoiceand

likenessofan

individual”“AIsystemscan

reflect

biasesin

societywhentrainedondatathat

contains

them”“TwoAIsystemsusingthesame

data

would

produce

differentresultsifcreated

bydifferent

people”“GenerativeAIsystemsthataretrainedon

realdatasometimes

make

upfacts”“ItIs

possibletobypass

rules

programmed

intogenerativeAIthatrestrictthecontent

it

can

create”Figure2:Significant

numbersofpeople

inolder

generations

appearto

be

unaware

ofcommon

risks

and

limitations

of

generativeAIsystems,creating

risksforthemand

others.Pleaseselectthestatementsthataretruefromthelistbelow.Of

respondentscorrectly“Everything

produced

byAI

has

been

checkedtomake

sure

it

istrue”18%28%39%41%55%80%saidthat

notN

=

2515903Howolder

adultsare

incorporatingAIin

daily

life10Abroadrange

of

AI

usage

emerged,with40%of

respondents

either

havingnever

used

AI

or

only

once

or

twice.Similarly,

14%useAIonceortwice

permonth,22%onceortwiceper

week,14%multipletimes

perweek

and

7%almost

every

day.There

were

also

notable

differences

in

usageamong

different

groups:For

example,those

whoare

still

employed

used

AI

three

times

more

thanthose

who

are

retired,suggesting

older

peoplewholefttheworkforceprior

tothe

advent

ofwidespread

AI

are

likely

a

priority

in

terms

ofsupport.Other

research

by

EY

found

that

as

muchas88%ofemployees

now

use

AI

atwork,illustratingthatprofessionalcontextsareasignificant

gateway

to

engaging

with

AI(EY2025).Agendergapalsoemerged:

31%

of

women

hadneverusedAI

incomparisonto

20%

of

men(Figure3).This

mirrors

similar

findings

about

aglobalgendergapingenerativeAI

usage(Otis

etal.2025).Social

and

economic

factors

mayexplain

this

variation,such

as

women

beingunderrepresented

inSTEMcareers,implyinglessconfidence

with

technology,and

that

women’sjobs

are

already

more

exposed

to

AI

disruptionthan

men(ILO

2025).It

is

worth

noting

that27%

of

male

respondentswerestillinfull-timeemploymentcomparedto18%ofwomen;aswe

have

alreadyseen,

being

inemploymentincreasesAI

use,andthis

may

bea

contributingfactortothegendergap.“InCalifornia,researchshowsthere’s

somethinglike

a

40percentagepointgapbetweenmenunder50

andwomenover50intheirattitudestowardthinkingAIis

beneficial.Youdon’tseethatgapinalmostany

other

dimension.Andthenyouaddclassandraceintothose

numbersandthegapgetswider.Gina

NeffExecutive

Director

of

the

Minderoo

Centre

for

Technology

andDemocracy

at

the

University

of

Cambridge03Howolder

adults

areincorporatingAI

indaily

life“Whenyouaresearchingforsomething

it'sconvenient,youcanaskwiththemicorthevoice.Sometimesitgivesmethewrong

answer

butit’sratherconvenient.

Iuseit

quiteregularlyineverydaylifeas

atool.Focusgrouprespondent,Japan11There

are

similar

rates

of

usageacrossagegroupsfor

men

andwomeninthe“very

often”

or“often”categories.However,thereisa

gender

gapthat

divergesfromthere.Menuse

AI

once

ortwice

aweekatafargreaterfrequencythan

women.Women

whoneveruse

AI

doso

at

higherrates

than

men

across

all

agegroups

with

both

BabyBoomersandSilentGenerations.N

=

2515

Female

MaleVery

often

(e.g.

every

day

or

8%

7%

Often

18%24%Figure3:Olderwomenaremuch

lesslikelyto

havetried

AI

tools

than

their

male

counterparts.

Howfrequentlydoyou

usegenerativeAItools?

Select

one31%13%15%14%15%11%15%20%Never

Very

rarely

Infrequently(e.g.,

once

ortwicea

month)Sometimes(e.g.,

once

ortwicea

week)(e.g.,

multipletimes

a

week)4%3%almostevery

day)once

or

ever)I

don’t

know(e.g.,

twice12OATSfromAARPOlderAdultsTechnologyServices(OATS)fromAARPisanon-profit

organizationthathelps

older

generations

with

a

variety

ofdigital

training,including

AI.SeniorPlanet

is

the

flagship

program

of

OATS

witha

mission

to

empower

people

aged

60-plus

tousetechnologytoimprovetheir

livesacross

three

key“impact

areas”:health,social

connection,and

financial

resilience.Through

both

in-person

centers

and

onlineofferings,Senior

Planet

provides

a

mix

ofservices

including

multi-week

courses,standalone

lectures

and

workshops,guestspeakers,group

events,and

multimediaresources.Overall,Senior

Planet

aims

tocombat

digital

exclusion,reduce

socialisolation,support

lifelonglearningandhealthyaging,and

helpoldergenerations

remainconnected,active

and

empowered

in

arapidly

changing

world.OATSrecently

publishedanAI

for

OlderAdults

Guide,developed

with

input

fromMicrosoft

and

OpenAI,outlining

the

benefitsandrisksofAI

and

how

it

canaddress

thedistinctivehealth-related,financial,andlifestyle

needs

of

people

age

50+.“understandandOldergenerationslearnaboutAIfrom

avarietyof

sources.Most(73%)

learn

from

onlinesources(including

social

media)and

a

further32%

byusingAIitself.

Children,

friends

andneighbors,and

grandchildren

are

also

a

sourceofinformation(20%,

13%,and

6%respectively).This

suggests

that

personalmotivation

and

initiative

play

a

key

role

in

howoldergenerationsbuildtheirunderstanding

ofAI;by

contrast,government-sponsoredprograms

rank

near

the

bottom

at

just3%.Older

generations

use

AI

for

a

wide

variety

ofreasons.Among

those

that

had

used

it,the

topusewaslearning(79%of

respondents),followedbyhealthandtravel

(63%

and

58%,respectively).

Respondentsreported

positiveexperiences

with

most

uses,top

of

which

werework(84%

positive),

learning(83%)andcreativity(80%).

Negative

experiences

wererare(around

1or

2%).“Societystillbelievesthatolderadultsare

notinterestedintechnologywhenthatisnolonger

true.Seniorsareincreasinglyintegratingtechnologyintotheirlivesinwaysthatservetheiruniquewantsandneeds.Whenit

comesto

AI,olderadultsarecurious

andwanttolearnmore,notunlikeyoungerdemographics.AlexGlazebrook,VP

of

Program

Operations,

Older

Adults

TechnologyServices(OATS)fromAARPMany

older

adults

are

eager

to

useAIinwaysthatgenuinelysupporttheirlives.

Our

collaborationwithOATSreflectsa

sharedcommitmenttomeetingpeoplewheretheyare—

helpingthemexplorethebenefitsof

AI,recognize

potentialrisks,

andmakeinformedchoicesthatsupporttheirfinancialsecurity,health,and

everydaydecision-making.Lisa

Reppell,Senior

Program

Manager,

Information

Literacy,Microsoft1304Howolder

adultsperceiveits

risksand

benefits1423%20%7%

5%12%7%

7%

14%6%

7%

14%Oldergenerationsdemonstrateoptimism

about

AI.Around60%ofrespondents

were

either

somewhat

orverypositiveaboutthelikely

impactofAI

on

themselves

and

their

loved

ones.Negative

feelings

tend

to

become

morepronounced

in

the

broader

picture:

only

11%expressednegativityinthecontextof

themselves,but

that

rises

progressively

to

21%

in

the

contextof

the

world(Figure4).MeMy

lovedonesMycountryPeopleororganizationsalreadyinpositionsof

powerTheworldasa

wholeFigure4:Oldergenerationsareconsistently

positiveabout

the

likely

impacts

ofAI

in

the

future;

on

themselves

and

ontheworld

as

a

whole.Inthecomingyears,how

muchof

a

positiveor

negative

effect

do

you

expectAI

will

havefor

each

of

these

groups?Select

one04Howolderadults

perceive

itsrisks

and

benefitsuNoopinion1

-

Very

negativeu2-Somewhat

negative3-

Littleor

noeffectu4-Somewhat

positive5-Very

positiveN

=

2515“Iworrythatpeople

arebecomingsorelianton

AIandcomputersthattheyarelosinglife

and

interpersonal

skills.Surveyrespondentaged72Thesefeelingsarebroadly

in

linewith

the

EY

AISentiment

Index(EY2026).6%

4%7%3%

5%

6%40%40%41%41%38%23%23%24%23%20%13%13%8%15Foroldergenerations,themostsignificant

barrierto

adopting

AI

are

concerns

about

their

personaldata,cited

by41%while

a

further

34%

saidtheydon't

know

which

AI

tools

to

use(Figure

5).

At

thesame

time,there

is

a

desire

to

learn

about

and

useAI,sohow

isthat

wish

best

served?Themainchoiceforsupportcomes

in

the

form

ofeasy-to-useresourcesorguides,chosen

by

44%

ofrespondents.A

further32%would

like

to

accessonline

training

courses

provided

by

AI

providers.There

is

no

one

to

supportmein

using

AI

tools19%AvailableAItoolsaren’t

easyformetouse17%Iworrythat

AIwilltake

mypersonal

data41%“Olderpeople

experiencedthechangefromananalogue

toadigitalworld,sothatexperiencehelps

themwithAI

—theyareaccustomedtochange.Takashi

Maeno,Professor

Emeritus,Keio

UniversityFigure5:Concernsaboutdata

privacytopcited

barriers

to

further

engagement

withAI

for

older

generations.

Thetopbarrierforfurtheradoptionamongst

oldergenerations

isthat

AI

will

take

their

personal

data.Whatarethe

mainbarriersyoufaceinengagingwith

AI?

Select

oneOnly

15%expressednointerest

in

learning

aboutAI,which

demonstrates

a

remarkable

willingness

toengageforgenerationsthataretypicallynottop

of

mind(Figure6).I

don’tknow

wheretostart23%Noneof

the

above

–There

are

no

barriers

tomy

engagement

with

AI19%I

don’tseehow

AI

couldhelp

me20%Idon’t

have

access

toa

computer

or

phonethatcan

use

AI5%Idon’t

know

whichAItoolsto

useforwhichtasks34%I

have

physicallimitationsthat

preventmefrom

using

AI4%●

Other(Write

in)3%Ican’t

afford

to

use

AItools11%N

=

25151644%32%27%23%20%19%17%14%12%1%15%Easy-to-use

guidesorresourcesforlearning

aboutAIat

myown

paceOnline

courses

or

training

on

how

to

use

AIfromAI

providersOngoingassistance

or

helplineswhen

IgetstuckIn-personworkshopsorclasses

designedfor

people

likemeSupportfromtrustedorganizations(libraries,

communitycenters,companies,etc.)Supportfromfamilyorfriendsto

learnmore

about

AIOne-on-one

coaching

or

supportSupportfromgovernmentstolearn

moreabout

AISmall

group,peer-to-peer

or

communitylearningsessionsOther(Write

in)None

of

the

above

-

I'm

not

interested

inlearning

more

about

AIN

=

2515Figure6:Self-guided

learning

isthemostpopular

choiceamong

older

generations

to

support

their

furtherlearning

aboutAI.Howwouldyou

preferto

besupportedin

engagingwith

AI?0%5%10%15%20%25%30%35%40%45%50%1730%29%29%26%23%15%14%12%11%10%1%10%AcceleratingscientificandmedicaladvancesIncreasinginnovationand

creativityIncreasingproductivityandbusiness

growthDrivingbetteroutcomesin

healthcareandpersonal

safetyContributingtosolvingglobalchallenges(e.g.,cleanenergy,disease)Improvinglearningoutcomesin

educationIncreasingefficiencyandeffectivenessofgovernmentIncreasingaccessto

public

goodsandservicesSupportinginclusionandreducing

barriersfaced

bydisadvantaged

peopleDemocratizing

access

to

learningIncreasing

access

to

leisure

timeOther(Write-in)Noneoftheaboveor

NoopinionN

=

2515ProvidingoldergenerationswithstrongerAIliteracy

and

practical

skills

will

enable

them

toengagewiththesetechnologiesmoreconfidently

andmeaningfully.Withappropriatesupport,they

are

more

likely

to

recognize

and

benefit

from

AI’s

anticipatedcontributions,suchasacceleratingscientific

and

medical

advances(Figure7).Figure7:AIapplications

inscienceandmedicine

werethe

most

commonly

cited

benefit

of

AI

that

older

generations

areexcited

about.OfthesecommonlycitedbenefitsofAI,

which

areyou

most

excited

by?At

the

same

time,improved

understanding

canhelpthem

morethoughtfullynavigateareaswherecaution

is

warranted,including

the

use

of

AI

ininforming

government

policy

decisions(Figure8).0%5%

10%15%20%25%30%35%40%45%43%18Diagnosingmedicalconditions

4%Screening

and

shortlisting

job

candidates

7%Providing

personal

financial

advice

6%Providing

companionship

and

advice

topeopleDriving

autonomous

vehicles

5%Informing

government

policy

decisions

8% Idon't

knowDon'ttrustAIProceedwith

cautionTrustAIN

=

2515Some

percentages

reach

101%due

to

rounding.34%39%22%25%35%16%23%20%21%18%16%47%42%54%50%39%56%45%48%45%48%46%Figure8:

Cautionisthemostcommonly

recommended

approachacross

a

range

ofapplications

ofAI.Trustissurprisingly

lowforcommonapplications,and

surprisingly

high

for

other

more

controversial

use

cases.

TowhatextentdoyoutrustAIto

be

safeand

effective

in

each

of

thesescenarios?

Select

oneHandlingcustomerserviceinquiries

4%IdentifyingcriminalsusingsurveillancevideoGradingstudentessaysandassignmentsSupportingchildrenIseducation14%7%

12%19%19%17%25%25%27%25%28%30%Finding

specific

quotes

from

a

political

leader5%6%9%8%1905What’s

next?20Foreducatorsandpolicymakers:Design

and

fund

practical,age-appropriate

AI

literacyprogramsthatareembeddedintrusted

local