A LLM-Based Chatbot for Mindfulness Practice with Older Adults: A Development and Usability Study

This study explores the development and usability of a Large Language Model (LLM)-based chatbot designed to support mindfulness practice for older adults. In a pre-study, 15 older adults used a commercially available mindfulness app with recorded human guidance for three weeks. Qualitative feedback revealed key design themes including voice, personality, interactivity, and ease of use. Building on the findings of the pre-study, we developed a prototype AI mindfulness coach by fine-tuning OpenAI's ChatGPT on a custom dataset of mindfulness scripts. The AI coach was evaluated through participatory design workshops.