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OpenAI and OATS bring free ChatGPT workshops to 1,000 older adults

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OpenAI and OATS bring free ChatGPT workshops to 1,000 older adults

OpenAI Academy, working with Older Adults Technology Services (OATS), an AARP program, is hosting the Older Adults AI Skills Jam: a free, in-person workshop series meant to help older adults use ChatGPT confidently and safely. The Jam aims to reach 1,000 older adults across 10 U.S. cities: Denver, Colorado; Miami, Florida; San Antonio, Texas; Montgomery County, Maryland; Queens, New York; St. Louis, Missouri (through the Mirowitz Center); the Twin Cities, Minnesota (through Senior Community Services); Nashville, Tennessee (through the Nashville Public Library and FiftyForward); Fresno, California (through Fresno EOC); and Boise, Idaho (through LEARN Idaho). The event is part of a multi-year effort OpenAI launched with OATS that builds on OATS's flagship program, Senior Planet. OpenAI says data shows older adults are using ChatGPT more for practical guidance, information and writing: in the U.S., the share of messages associated with people 55 and older grew from 6% to nearly 10% over the past year. A core part of the curriculum covers online safety: participants learn to spot scam warning signs such as urgent language, secrecy and suspicious links, and are taught a simple rule, pause, think, and ask, along with how to use ChatGPT as an added layer of scrutiny. OpenAI notes that, across all users, people ask ChatGPT tens of millions of times a week to help evaluate suspicious messages, emails and websites, and frames the older-adults program as complementing its broader work to prevent, detect and disrupt fraud and scams. The workshops build on earlier OpenAI Academy events run with nonprofits, small businesses and K-12 educators.

Key facts

  • OpenAI Academy and OATS (an AARP program) are running the free Older Adults AI Skills Jam, targeting 1,000 older adults across 10 U.S. cities.
  • The program builds on a multi-year OpenAI-OATS effort tied to OATS's Senior Planet program.
  • OpenAI says the share of U.S. ChatGPT messages from people 55+ grew from 6% to nearly 10% over the past year.
  • The curriculum teaches scam recognition (urgent language, secrecy, suspicious links) and a pause, think, and ask rule, plus using ChatGPT as an extra scrutiny layer.
  • OpenAI says people ask ChatGPT tens of millions of times a week to help evaluate suspicious messages, emails and websites.

Why it matters

It shows OpenAI treating an older demographic as a distinct, growing user base rather than an afterthought: the company cites its own data that the share of U.S. ChatGPT messages from people 55 and older nearly doubled, from 6% to nearly 10%, over a year. Rather than only marketing to that group, OpenAI is funding hands-on, in-person training delivered through an established aging-services network (OATS and its Senior Planet program), pairing product adoption with digital-literacy and scam-safety education.

Who it affects

Directly, the up to 1,000 older adults expected to attend the Skills Jam sessions in the 10 named cities and communities, along with the local partner organizations running each session (Senior Planet chapters, the Mirowitz Center, Senior Community Services, the Nashville Public Library and FiftyForward, Fresno EOC, and LEARN Idaho). More broadly, it signals to caregivers and aging-services organizations that OpenAI is investing in outreach infrastructure aimed at this age group.

How to use it

The workshops are free and in-person, held at the listed local partner sites in each of the 10 cities; no cost, registration link, or session duration is given in the source. The curriculum itself doubles as a usable takeaway even for those who cannot attend: it teaches spotting scam warning signs (urgent language, secrecy, suspicious links) and applying a pause, think, and ask rule before acting, plus using ChatGPT as an extra check on suspicious messages, emails or websites.

How solid is it

This is a first-party OpenAI announcement describing its own program, so the participation targets, city list and partner-organization names are straightforward factual claims. The message-share statistic (6% to nearly 10%) is OpenAI's own usage data, described only as 'data shows' with no methodology, source breakdown, or margin given, so it should be read as a company-reported figure rather than an independently verified one.

Risks and caveats

The source gives no calendar date for the Jam beyond 'today,' no breakdown of how the 1,000-participant target is allocated across the 10 cities, no session duration, and no named individuals, staff or participants, quoted or identified. The 6%-to-nearly-10% figure and the 'tens of millions of times a week' scam-check figure both come solely from OpenAI's own data with no external source cited.

“a simple rule: pause, think, and ask”

— OpenAI Academy, describing the scam-safety guidance taught in the workshop