Designing with Tensions: Older Adults' Emotional Support-Seeking Under System-Level Constraints in Conversational AI

2026-05-06

AI Summary

This study investigates how older adults navigate interactional disruptions and shifts in control when seeking emotional support from conversational AI systems, particularly in response to safety mechanisms. Through in-depth interviews with 18 older adults and subsequent thematic analysis, the research reveals that safety interventions are frequently perceived as interruptions to emotional rhythm, thereby diminishing users’ sense of autonomy and emotional engagement. The findings underscore the need for safety mechanisms to be contextually embedded within users’ social circumstances, respecting their emotional pacing and agency. Building on these insights, the study articulates a set of interaction design principles that balance safety considerations with emotional continuity, offering both theoretical and practical guidance for developing emotionally supportive AI systems tailored to older adult populations.

Abstract

Older adults have increasingly turned to conversational AI as a source of emotional support. However, little is known about how emotionally supportive interactions are experienced in everyday use, particularly when AI systems limit, redirect, or intervene during these interactions. We interviewed 18 older adults about their experiences using conversational AI for emotional support, examining when they turn to AI, how they engage during emotionally vulnerable moments, and how they respond when support feels disrupted. Our findings show that older adults often rely on AI when other forms of social support feel inaccessible. However, current safety-related interventions can redirect interactions in ways that participants experience as interruptions to emotional engagement or as shifts in control away from them. Such disruptions can undermine older adults' ability to remain emotionally engaged and, in some cases, contribute to emotional distress. We discussed design implications for emotionally supportive conversational AI, emphasizing the need for safety interventions that are enacted within older adults' social contexts, align with users' emotional pacing, and preserve their sense of agency.

Problem

• conversational AI
• emotional support
• older adults
• system-level constraints
• support-seeking

Innovation

• conversational AI
• emotional support
• older adults
• safety interventions
• user agency