I Taught My 92-Year-Old Grandfather to Use AI. Here's What Happened.

I called my grandfather last week to interview him for this article. Halfway through the call, his phone alarm went off. He couldn't figure out how to stop it — so he turned his phone off, turned it back on, and called me back.

"When I hang up after this," he told me, "I'm going to ask Perplexity what happened."

He didn't need to have the answer yet. His first instinct was just to go ask.

That is Courtney. Ninety-two years old. Former CEO of a manufacturing company. Current member of his city planning board in Desert Hot Springs, California — and the person who inspired me to start Good Neighbor Tech here in Missoula. And as of this past holiday season — a daily Perplexity AI user who opens the app an average of three times a day.

I'm based in Missoula, Montana, where I run Good Neighbor Tech — an in-home tech support service for older adults across Missoula and western Montana. I gifted him a six-month AI subscription for the holidays because I genuinely believed it could help him. Two months later, he called me — me, his Missoula-based grandson — to say it was the best gift he had ever received.

I want to tell you what happened — because if it worked for a 92-year-old who was skeptical, it can probably work for the older adult in your life too.

Who Courtney Is — And Why That Matters

Before I tell you what AI did for my grandfather, I want to tell you who he is. Because the story only makes sense with that context.

My grandfather retired early after building and leading a manufacturing company. He thrives on learning, on solving problems, on taking on new projects. At 92, he serves on a city planning board where he helps guide decisions about municipal budgeting and expansion. He is not a person who sits still.

Like many Missoula seniors I meet, my grandfather also had a "computer guru" — a tech-savvy person he called when he had questions he couldn't answer himself. He paid a gig worker to do research and build graphs to support his city planning work. He was managing complexity through other people.

That's not unusual. Most sharp, capable Missoula seniors I work with have workarounds like this — people they call, services they pay for — because nobody ever showed them a better way.

"I thought AI was just an enhanced Google. Better at answering questions. I didn't realize it was a way to actually do work."

— Courtney, 92

The Moment It Changed

My grandfather started exactly where most Missoula seniors start — with tech questions about his devices. Safe territory — the same kinds of things he used to call his computer guru about. Perplexity answered them well. He kept going.

Then came health questions. Is my dermatologist right about this? He'd ask, read the answer, and go back to his doctor better informed. ("Yes, they were right. Listen to them," he told me, laughing.)

But the real turning point was his city planning work.

Courtney had been paying a gig worker to research wealth distribution across different cities and build graphs to help him think through municipal budgeting and expansion planning. It was real analytical work — the kind of thing you'd hire someone for.

One day he realized he could just ask Perplexity.

Not only could it pull the research — it could help him think through the problem, suggest angles he hadn't considered, and summarize findings in plain language. The gig worker became optional. The dependency disappeared.

"It felt exciting. The realization that I didn't have to call on experts for most things anymore."

— Courtney, 92

What He Actually Uses It For

Here's where the story gets specific — and specific is what makes it real. These aren't hypothetical use cases. These are the actual things my grandfather has used Perplexity for in the past two months.

• Health questions. Cross-checking his doctors, understanding diagnoses, asking follow-up questions he forgot to ask in the office. He always verifies — but he shows up to appointments better prepared now.
• City planning research. Pulling data on municipal budgets, wealth distribution, and expansion strategies — work he used to outsource to a gig worker. He does it himself now.
• His grandmother's Samsung Galaxy. Grandma had stopped using her phone because the Samsung Galaxy felt too complex. My grandfather assumed she needed a new, simpler device — and started looking at options. Instead, he asked Perplexity. It walked him through simplifying her phone's settings. She uses it now. No new phone. No headache. Money saved.
• The eclipse. He saw it and was confused — why wasn't the full moon actually full? Perplexity explained what he was seeing in real time. "I just asked it right there," he said.
• His Ring doorbell and cameras. Setup questions, troubleshooting issues, understanding settings. Problems that used to require a call to someone.
• The cat. Their cat was driving them crazy begging for food. Perplexity recommended an automatic feeder. He bought one, then added a camera to monitor it. "It's working great," he reported, completely serious.
• His electric Hyundai and home solar setup. This one is remarkable. My grandfather has solar panels and a home battery system. Perplexity helped him figure out that he needed to cap his car's charging rate at 60% and restrict charging to certain hours — reducing his grid reliance and optimizing his energy transactions. This is not a simple problem. He solved it with AI.

What He Learned About Using AI Well

My grandfather didn't just use AI — he got good at it. A few things he figured out on his own that are worth passing along.

• It tries to tell you what you want to hear. My grandfather noticed early that Perplexity sometimes steered toward the answer it thought he was looking for rather than pushing back. He learned to ask sharper questions and not accept the first response as gospel.
• He started talking instead of typing. Switching to voice input was a turning point. It made the whole experience faster and more natural, and his usage went up significantly after he made the switch.
• He takes notes. After a useful conversation, he asks Perplexity for a summary and key takeaways — then writes them down. He revisits old topics in Perplexity Spaces to refresh his memory. He treats it like a research partner, not a magic answer machine.
• My grandfather caught himself getting lazy — a pattern I see with Missoula seniors too once the novelty wears off. He noticed he was asking the same question every few days instead of retaining the answer. The note-taking habit fixed that.
• He never trusts it 100%. Especially on health. He uses it to get informed, not to replace his doctors.

What He'd Tell Someone His Age

I asked my grandfather what he says when friends ask him about AI. He didn't hesitate.

"Have you used AI? You should try it."

— Courtney, 92

Most of my grandfather's friends know he uses Perplexity. Several have started using it themselves — which mirrors what I see happening in Missoula senior communities too. Some have started. Some are still skeptical. His answer to everyone — skeptics included — is the same: just try it.

My grandfather was skeptical too, at the beginning — just like most Missoula seniors I sit down with for the first time. Not because he was afraid of it. But because he wasn't sure he could figure it out. The phone alarm that interrupted our interview — and the fact that he immediately asked Perplexity how to fix it — is his answer to that doubt.

What This Means for Missoula Families

I live and work in Missoula. The older adults I help here are sharp, capable people who spent their lives solving hard problems. What they're missing isn't ability — it's someone patient enough to show them the right tools.

My grandfather lives in California. I couldn't sit with him in person — but a gift and a phone call was enough to get him started. Almost every Missoula senior I've worked with has a moment, usually about 20 minutes in, where something clicks: "Wait — I can use this for that too?" That moment is what Good Neighbor Tech exists for. And helping Missoula families get there faster — whether across Missoula or across the country — is exactly what we do.

Common Questions About AI for Seniors

One Last Thing Courtney Said

At the end of our call — after the alarm, after the solar panels, after the cat feeder — I asked my grandfather what he would tell a 90-year-old who was nervous about trying AI.

He thought about it for a second.

"I'd tell them it's not as hard as they think. And that the only way to find out is to ask it something."

My grandfather is 92. He's on a city planning board. He's optimizing his energy grid. And the best gift he's ever received fits in his pocket.

If you're in Missoula and you want to give someone you love that same feeling — we can help you get there. That's what Good Neighbor Tech is for.