Loneliness among older adults is often described as a public health problem. In 2022, the New York State Office for the Aging (NYSOFA) tried an unusual response: a tabletop companion robot called ElliQ, made by Intuition Robotics.
The program
NYSOFA and Intuition Robotics began a pilot in May 2022 to place ElliQ with more than 800 older New Yorkers. The goals were to reduce loneliness, encourage engagement, support health and wellness, and help people age in place. Participants paid nothing; the state budgeted about $1.4 million for the program.
ElliQ does not walk or fetch things. It talks. It starts conversations, suggests activities, reminds people about medication and checks in on how they feel. Its job is social.
What the program reported
In August 2023, NYSOFA and Intuition Robotics reported a 95% reduction in loneliness among participants and high engagement, with some people interacting with ElliQ more than 30 times a day. Later NYSOFA figures cited about 37 interactions and 23 minutes of use per day on average.
Those numbers come from the program's own reporting, not an independent peer-reviewed study, and the published participant counts vary between sources. Still, the engagement figures alone are striking: people chose to talk to it, often, for months.
Why it matters for Social AI
A companion that talks to one person at a time is only the first step. Older adults live among family members, caregivers, neighbors and friends. A truly helpful companion would understand who is in the room, notice when a visitor arrives, and know when to step back from a conversation between people.
That requires learning from real social settings: households, gatherings and care visits with several people present. It also requires extraordinary care around consent and privacy, because these are some of the most personal moments in people's lives.
Crosstalk sources interaction data only with documented consent from every participant, across conversation and social settings. See how we handle consent or read the paper.
Sources: NYSOFA announcement, The Robot Report, Hoodline, March 2026.