Exclusive: OpenAI launches road tour to educate older Americans on AI

Updated Sept. 16, 2026, 12:41 p.m. ET

Corrections & Clarifications: An OpenAI summary of a report incorrectly stated the time span in which 24.7 million users asked ChatGPT to check for possible scams.  It was during an average week. 

OpenAI and AARP will travel to 10 cities across the United States on Sept. 16 to teach older Americans how to use AI to spot scams.

The tour coincides with a report released by OpenAI on Sept. 16 estimating that 24.7 million people worldwide use ChatGPT to check possible scams on an average day. Online scams have been on the rise this decade, according to the Federal Bureau of Investigation, targeting people over 60 in particular.

"The goal of the workshops is for participants to gain some proficiency in using ChatGPT tools confidently and safely to spot scams and prevent fraud," OpenAI spokesperson Nate Evans told USA TODAY. 

The tech company will begin a longer tour of the country with the same purpose next year, taking a mobile center to rural and urban communities that aims to help older adults get hands-on experience with the technology.

The tour is in collaboration with AARP’s technology-focused community center Senior Planet and Older Adults Technology Services (OATS), which OpenAI has partnered with since 2025. Senior Planet is providing the mobile center, or "Digital Discovery Lab," that will have the technologies on site to provide access, training, and education about AI.