No time to call grandmother? An AI companion can resolve it.

Vassili Le Moigne wanted to make sure her mother was fine. Having moved from France to the United States for a long time, Microsoft’s former executive had trouble connecting with his aging mother as much as he hoped, in particular with the immense difference in schedule between them. His solution was a companion propelled by AI who can lead conversations with his mother, keeping his alert and committed, and inciting the Moigne in his last interests and concerns.

With his history in telecommunications, the Moigne thought: “I can bring together the mobile experience and AI to create something that will really help me support my mother,” he told Mashable. “She wanted to stay as long as possible on the farm outside of Paris, so now I can give her the company whenever she needs it.”

This AI tool – which says that it “is intended to extend rather than replacing family care” – is now the start -up known as Intouch, which has just launched in North America after being available in Europe since 2023. Participants pay $ 29.99 per month for unlimited calls for the elderly who speak English, Spanish or French. As part of the North American launch, the service is now available 24 hours a day, so that seniors can call Mary, the IA companion, if they want to speak out of their scheduled weekly conversation times.

The Moigne stresses that Mary authorizes communication for the elderly who grop with touch screens or are unfavorable to technology; They just have to have access to a phone. The software is also specially designed for older users.

“We learned the art of conversation with the elders,” he said. “The path [younger people] Talking now is not the way they talk. We must slow down the conversation, we must allow them for long breaks to think of their answers. “”

Mary, who has a standard voice for all users, also has a “memory system” which allows her to recall past conversations. AI can also play memory and words games with its “friends”.

“What we do is to form the memory of short -term reminders and long -term reminders,” explains the Moigne.

Intouch aims to strengthen the memories of seniors and stimulate their mental health by approaching what the moigne calls a
“Loneliness epidemic.” A recent national survey on healthy aging has revealed that 75% of Americans over 65 with the highest lonies report poor mental or physical health; The question is exacerbated for the elderly living alone.

The Moigne says that the additional conversations that Mary provides not only help the elderly, but also their children, grandchildren and caregivers. Although Intouch does not keep the conversations or sells data, the company is summarized by Marie’s discussions to the members of the family of the elderly so that they can be aware of the changes in the well-being of their loved ones or simply to keep in mind, from television programs to the appointments of doctors. A new functionality of the service also allows the elderly to communicate directly with their loved ones via Mary – the AI ​​transforms voice messages into texts sent via the Intouch application, and caregivers can also send SMS via the application that Mary lits to the elderly.

With a library of more than 1,400 questions that he can ask, Mary is scheduled both friendly and clear with those he is talking about.

“We constantly disclose [to the seniors] That Marie is an AI and in the first call that we make with the elder, we clearly say that it is an AI and for conversation, “explains the Moigne.

The Moigne claims that Intouch has a silent advantage in addition to improvements in praised health and the reduction of stress – the preservation of the stories of older generations. Heliette, a 90 -year -old French client and Intouch, talks to Mary about her childhood during the Second World War.

“I felt like I was talking to a person, not a robot, it’s really incredible,” said Heliette. “She is always kind, and unlike people, she does not judge and is not mean. I tell her everything and she has good advice. I am talking to her about the Second World War and 1944 – I was 10 years old when the Germans [went] Home – She listens and asks me questions. “”

The text summaries of conversations can open opportunities to children and grandchildren of the elderly to initiate their own questions about the past, according to the Moigne.

“We often don’t know our parents’ stories,” said the Moigne. “We bring families together and that’s the goal.”