What we realized was that the people who would benefit most from having a voice assistant will have the hardest time setting up a device. It became clear that the onboarding — basically the beginning of the user journey — was going to be a major focus of our work. Simply opening the box was not very intuitive.

An important observation was that the participants wanted to be allowed to help each other. We noted that some members of the group were already doing that kind of work in their daily lives. One 71-year-old woman provides computer training for her peers.

A generation seeking connections

Although members of the older generation like independence and want to remain in their current living situations, they are often alone. Having a voice assistant there to greet them and to hear a voice was a benefit to many of our project participants. They liked being able to say, “Good Morning” and hear something back. It’s uplifting to make that connection. In addition, many of our participants felt just a little safer having a device that could reach the outside world when they needed care.

When I heard this comment from an older gentleman about his increased feelings of security since having the voice assistant, it confirmed for me the work we are doing, our reason for being, and our purpose.

Once we transcribed the diaries, we discovered that older adults aren’t necessarily ego-centric when they are looking at the possibilities of something like a voice assistant. Many recorded reactions in their diaries that reflected thoughtfulness about groups and the benefits of technology for others. Overwhelmingly, we heard comments about convenience. That was the biggest driver. Based on their comments, we were able to conclude that older adults are wanting to voice-enable all their devices — lights, TVs, and appliances.

Part of our mission is to identify the features that will better address the needs of this unique audience. As with all generations, our project participants wanted access to entertainment. They want to hear whatever they like and what they remember. But there was some confusion about what they might be charged for and what is a free service. We realized that we need to find a way to clearly communicate what they are getting, and what apps may cost them more money to download.

Project Zilver playbook

To help businesses understand the opportunities associated with marketing their products and devices to the rapidly growing older generations, we’re creating useful playbooks. Business leaders and developers of voice assistants can use our playbooks to understand some of the key factors of addressing the “Zilver” market — such as slower speech, more pauses in speech and voice recognition that doesn’t require clear, concise speech by the user.

For example, we’re currently, we’re working with an insurance company to create an emergency service where an individual designates a neighbor or a close relative who then gets a call in the event of an emergency.

Although we only started this a little over a year ago, we have already gotten a lot of attention. I call this the flywheel effect. As you can see, the momentum from one element of this movement helps to drive a forward motion for the next. The net effect is that the entire system gains greater stability and power.

Having a stated purpose of trying to make people’s lives better helps keep the momentum going. In addition, everyone carries their own costs, but there’s more to it than that. For example, how we fit into the constellation of the industry. On one hand, companies that work with us get the benefits of positive public relations. They’re able to say that they are working with a consortium dedicated to improving lives. On the other hand, there’s the business aspect. A voice AI platform provider has the opportunity to grow usage and expand its customer base. Service providers, such as an insurance company can get more customers or provide better service to their existing customer base. Most importantly, we provide older adults with richer and more independent lives through voice AI.

Future of Project Zilver

Now that we have identified a need and confirmed that older adults are not only willing, but anxious, to use voice-enabled devices, our mission is to get organizations moving toward achieving the 6 key elements we’ve identified.

This year, Google and the Dutch AARP are starting a content marketing campaign to talk about the smart home and voice assistants. In addition, the local Amazon subsidiary — called BOL in Holland — will have a special store with discounts for older adults. Most importantly, the 14 people from our focus group will also start some peer support groups. We’ve already started this in Denmark where the people at AARP are learning to support older adults with smart speakers.

Secondly, we are promoting more access for mature adults through a project with the banking industry in Holland to create a voice service for getting pension information.

What’s most important is what’s next. We’re a consortium and we want people to join us and start working on making lives better with voice services. To date, most of our efforts have been focused on the aging population in Holland, but Project Zilver was really designed to be a global effort. We’re hoping that U.S. organizations will soon join our consortium to raise awareness and provide better lives for mature citizens everywhere.

For more information, download the official Project Zilver research report.

Maarten Lens-FitzGerald, Founder of Project Zilver, Voice evangelist and conversational channel consultant. www.lens-fitzgerald.com