OpenAI Academy and Older Adults Technology Services (OATS) from AARP announced the Older Adults AI Skills Jam, free in-person workshops for 1,000 older adults in 10 US cities. The events run through Senior Planet and local partners, as part of a multi-year effort to build practical AI skills and online safety.
The program treats scam screening as a central everyday use of ChatGPT for older adults, not a side feature. Workshops teach warning signs such as urgent language, secrecy, and suspicious links, then position ChatGPT as an additional layer of scrutiny under a simple rule: pause, think, and ask. OpenAI says people ask ChatGPT to evaluate suspicious messages, emails, and websites tens of millions of times a week.
The timing follows OpenAI data showing the share of US messages associated with people 55 and older rising from 6% to nearly 10% in a year. For product teams, a growing older user base raises the stakes on how assistants judge suspicious messages and explain that judgment.
The announcement does not report outcomes, such as whether participants became better at spotting scams or how accurate ChatGPT assessments are. Evidence worth watching includes published results from the workshops and any learning resources built from participant questions.