AI for seniors: where it helps in everyday life and how to stay safe

Where AI helps older people in everyday life

Most people use AI today as a chatbot: you type or say a question in ordinary sentences and the program answers. In everyday life this means, for example, having a letter to your health insurer or landlord drafted, getting a technical term from a doctor's letter explained in plain words, or summarising a long set of instructions.

Many programs can now understand pictures too. You photograph a letter, a rating plate or a medicine box and ask what it says. Others listen and reply with a voice, so you do not need to type at all.

The German federation of senior citizens' organisations (BAGSO) has published a guide on this. Its fourth, expanded edition explains where older people encounter AI in everyday life and how voice assistants work, and adds new chapters on text and image generators as well as insights into local AI learning centres where people can practise.

Speaking instead of typing: voice assistants and the camera

Google's Gemini has a voice feature called Gemini Live, which according to Google is included in the free version. In the phone app you can switch on the camera and show Gemini what you see, such as a device you cannot work out how to use. On Android phones Google is also gradually introducing an orientation aid that reads out small print on labels or helps find things in a cupboard. Google itself warns that it can make mistakes and is not meant for navigation or detecting obstacles.

ChatGPT also offers a voice mode. In the free version it is limited, according to OpenAI, as is uploading images.

For blind and partially sighted people there is the Be My Eyes app. Its built-in Be My AI feature describes photos and answers questions about them. According to the App Store the app is free and available in German.

For smart speakers at home, Amazon launched Alexa+ in Germany on 7 May 2026, an AI version of Alexa that, according to Amazon, you can talk to in natural language. For now it runs in an early-access programme on most Echo devices.

According to Apple, the new Siri AI is not available in the EU on iPhone, iPad and Apple Watch. On the Mac it is available as a beta with a waitlist. You need macOS 27 Golden Gate and a Mac with an M1 chip or later or a MacBook Neo, and both the device language and the Siri language must be set to English.

What it costs (as of October 2026)

You do not need a subscription to try things out. The German consumer advice centres point out that testing a chatbot usually requires neither the paid version nor a paid app.

ChatGPT is available free of charge. According to a Notebookcheck report from September 2026, Go costs 8 euros and Plus 23 euros a month in Germany.

Gemini is free with a Google account. The smallest subscription, Google AI Plus, costs 4.99 euros a month according to Google.

According to Amazon, Alexa+ is free during the early-access programme. After that it is to be included at no extra cost for Prime members; without Prime it costs 22.99 euros a month.

According to the App Store, Be My Eyes is free.

Prices change often. What counts is the price shown to you when you sign up.

Recognising phone scams

Fraudsters now also use AI to fake voices. In September 2025, Bavarian broadcaster BR reported a case in Upper Franconia in which criminals imitated relatives' voices with AI. A familiar voice is therefore no longer reliable proof.

For so-called shock calls, in which an emergency is faked, the German police crime prevention service advises: hang up immediately, call the supposed caller or a trusted person back on a number you know, never hand money or valuables to strangers and reveal nothing about your finances. If in doubt, dial 110.

As a precaution, the police recommend agreeing on a password for calls within the family and having your phone book entry shortened or removed. According to BR, officers also advise asking questions only the real relative can answer and being careful with personal details on social networks.

Staying safe and private

The consumer advice centres generally recommend not entering personal or sensitive data into ChatGPT and other AI programs. This includes account numbers, health data or ID numbers. For a letter, a placeholder such as name or policy number, which you fill in yourself later, is often enough.

Answers can be wrong even when they sound convincing. The consumer advice centres advise checking information critically before passing it on. For health, money and legal matters, AI does not replace professional advice.

OpenAI may use conversations from the personal versions of ChatGPT for training. You can switch this off in the settings under data controls with the switch for improving the model for everyone.

With Alexa+, according to Amazon, you can listen back to what Alexa recorded in the Alexa privacy portal or the app, and decide whether and how long voice recordings are stored. Microphone and camera can be switched off on the devices.