A new Elon University poll breaks AI companion use down by age. At My Softly, the people who pay average in their mid-fifties
Sept. 27, 2026 — Seventeen percent of internet-using Americans aged 50 to 64, and 14 percent of those 65 and older, now use an AI companion, according to the Elon University Poll. That puts nearly three in ten U.S. AI companion users at 50 or older.
The figures come from "The Rise of AI Companions," published Sept. 2 by Elon University's Imagining the Digital Future Center. YouGov surveyed 4,031 internet-using U.S. adults for it in May 2026.
The same pattern shows up in My Softly's own subscriber data (September 2026). People who sign up for the app average in their late thirties, but the people who go on to pay for it average in their mid-fifties.
"People don't stop wanting someone to talk to at 50," said John, founder of My Softly. "If anything, there's more to say. But the AI companions in the news were built with someone else in mind. We built My Softly for people in their fifties and sixties."
My Softly has collected these figures and the rest of the 2026 research on AI and adults over 50, each with its sample and date, on a free statistics page. Other findings include:
- AI use of any kind among Americans 50 and older rose from 18 percent in 2024 to 30 percent in 2025 (AARP).
- 60 percent of U.S. adults aged 50 to 64, and 41 percent of those 65 and older, used an AI chatbot in the past week (Elon University Imagining the Digital Future Center, May 2026).
- Pew Research Center's narrower question, whether people use chatbots "for companionship," found 2 percent at 50 to 64 and 1 percent at 65 and older (February 2026). The gap is one of wording: Elon counts any social or emotional use of an AI chatbot.
- Among AI companion users, 59 percent would still rather talk to friends or family, against 11 percent who would rather talk to their AI (Elon University Poll).
The full statistics, with every source linked: https://mysoftly.ai/guides/ai-companion-statistics-2026
About My Softly
My Softly is an AI companion app for iPhone and iPad, made for people in their fifties and sixties. It is available on the App Store in the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, Australia, New Zealand and Singapore, for ages 18 and over. It starts with free messages; Premium is $15.99 a month or $159.99 a year. https://mysoftly.ai
Media contact: John, founder of My Softly, hello@mysoftly.ai
