When Wang Geng's mother, a teacher in her 50s from Hebei province, needed help writing lesson plans, she knew exactly whom to call: her son. Wang, an AI trainer based in Beijing, would fire up a chatbot and finish her tasks in seconds.

Then the calls for help stopped.

"I realized she hadn't contacted me for help in a long time," the 36-year-old said. "When I finally asked, she casually said, 'Oh, I've learned how to use Doubao myself'."

Doubao is a popular AI assistant app developed in 2023 by Byte-Dance, a Beijing-based global technology company.

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Wang's experience reflects a broader shift unfolding across China. During the Spring Festival holiday, millions of urban professionals returned to their hometowns expecting to serve as tech support for their digitally challenged parents. Instead, many discovered their parents had become proficient and enthusiastic users of AI assistants.

For the past two years, Wang has trained students ranging from office workers to retirees. He was surprised to find that seniors are among the most eager learners, often paying out of their own pockets for lessons.

"A large chunk of my students are over 50, and I've even taught an 80-year-old," he said.

Their motivations vary. Some older students embrace AI for entertainment purposes, using it to generate whimsical images or compose classical-style poetry. Others approach the technology with anxiety, influenced by the notion that AI will reshape society and leave the unprepared behind. A hopeful few see AI as a potential tool to generate extra income during retirement.

The rapid adoption of AI among older demographics carries significant risks, researchers warn.

A 2025 study by Shanghai Jiao Tong University found that nearly 30 percent of AI users are "almost completely unaware" that chatbots can fabricate information with complete confidence — a phenomenon known as AI hallucination.

Wang witnessed this vulnerability firsthand during the holiday. He watched his grandmother scroll through short-video apps, laughing at AI-generated content he considered obviously fake.

"To us, they look fake. To her, they're delightful," he said. "But there's real danger. Some content promotes health scams or pseudoscholarship, tricking people into joining WeChat groups."

Li Benxian, a retired professor of cross-cultural communication in Xi'an, Shaanxi province, first encountered Doubao two years ago through his daughter, who works at ByteDance.

She downloaded the app for him and his wife. But it wasn't until a colleague demonstrated its capabilities — answering questions, generating paintings and coaching English conversation — that Li became a convert.

Now the retired educator uses Doubao for almost everything. He consults it for historical context during travels. He feeds it English posts for his two Rednote accounts, letting the AI polish his writing. He even offloads administrative tasks to the chatbot, using it to schedule teaching rotations and examination invigilation.

"Whenever I have a new idea, Doubao says, 'That's a great point — why didn't I think of that?'" Li said with a laugh. "It never argues with you."

But Li has also learned that AI requires human oversight. When he asked Doubao to polish a post about a well-known Xi'an halal beef and mutton seller, he did not carefully check the output. Followers quickly pointed out that the AI had misspelled a crucial character's name.

"You cannot trust it 100 percent," he said.

China's technology giants have spent billions of yuan promoting AI assistants over the past year, with a particular focus on users aged 50 and older.

Doubao served as the exclusive AI partner for the Spring Festival Gala broadcast by China Central Television, generating more than 1.9 billion interactions on Chinese New Year's Eve, which fell on Feb 16. That included more than 50 million festive profile pictures and more than 100 million New Year greetings created for users, according to company data — demonstrating the AI assistant's deep integration into China's most important family occasion, when sending red packets and well-wishes is a cherished tradition.

For many seniors, however, the path to AI adoption runs not through prime-time television but through family chat groups and word-of-mouth recommendations. When Li Benxian's daughter shared red-packet opportunities in their family group chat during the holiday, relatives quickly downloaded the app and began experimenting.

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"It spreads much faster than any advertisement," Li said.

For "Dagoutou", a Rednote influencer based in the United States with more than 10,000 followers, AI has become a bridge across the 11,000 kilometers separating him from his aging parents in China.

During a European trip with his parents-in-law last year, the 32-year-old showed them how to photograph landmarks and use AI assistants for instant historical explanations.

Back in China, his own mother now uses AI not only for practical tasks such as drafting social media posts, but also for emotional support — sharing personal reflections and seeking feedback.

"I don't worry about AI replacing our connection," said Dagoutou, who asked to be identified only by his social media alias. "The companion AI fills a gap, and that actually makes things more harmonious between my parents and me."

Contact the writers at lilei@chinadaily.com.cn