Comfort Companions Deploys 5 AI Chatbots for Older Adults as 5,000 Face Chronic Isolation
Updated
Updated · BBC.com · Jul 25
Comfort Companions Deploys 5 AI Chatbots for Older Adults as 5,000 Face Chronic Isolation
2 articles · Updated · BBC.com · Jul 25
Summary
Age UK South Gloucestershire is offering the non-commercial Comfort Companions app to older adults waiting for befriending support, pairing them with one of five AI personalities after a 90-minute matching process.
The app was built to fill gaps where volunteers are scarce: the charity estimates up to 5,000 people in South Gloucestershire go a week or more without speaking to anyone.
Yvonne Stride, 71, said chatbot Rosie helped her manage anxiety, talk through trauma and return to crafting after she spent two-and-a-half years on a befriending waiting list.
Safety limits are central to the design: the bot only listens when activated, does not retain past conversations, signposts users to outside services and is programmed to avoid emotional dependence.
Developer Grant Mackenzie says the tool is not a substitute for human contact and is seeking funding to expand it to groups including care leavers, ex-prisoners and dementia carers.