What Every Home Care Leader Should Know About AI! [with Ankota Founder Ken Accardi]

AI for Home Care: What Leaders Should Know

On this episode of Home Care Heroes and Day Service Stars, host Ken Accardi takes a turn in the interview seat to answer an important question: What should home care and adult day care leaders know about artificial intelligence (AI)? With help from his colleague Sowpha Umashankar, Ken explores AI's current role, practical applications, and future in home care. Whether you're new to AI or already experimenting with it, this episode offers accessible, relevant insights for care professionals.

Topics covered in the episode are as follows:

You’re Already Using AI — Even If You Don’t Know It

• Amazon suggestions (“people who bought this also bought…”)
• Netflix recommendations
• Voice assistants like Alexa and Siri
• Mobile check deposits that read and verify your handwriting

"AI isn’t new or scary; it’s quietly integrated into our lives already."

AI in Home Care: Support, Not Replacement

• Home care and adult day care are human-centric industries. So why use AI at all? Ken emphasizes that AI shouldn’t replace personal relationships — it should enhance them by removing repetitive or time-consuming tasks.

Trying AI is Easier Than You Think

• To show how accessible AI is, Ken gives a live demo using ChatGPT, where he asks for a multiplication quiz for his son. Despite a typo in the request, the AI delivers a perfectly usable quiz instantly.

Voice Interaction: Talking to AI

• Ken demonstrates that you can also speak to AI on a phone app.

Three Practical AI Use Cases for Home Care Managers

1. Summarizing long articles
2. Creating training materials
3. Screening resumes

AI in Software: Behind the Scenes

• AI is also being integrated into home care software systems, often in ways users may not notice. Ken gives two examples from Ankota:

Trust but Verify: The Risks of AI

• AI isn’t perfect. It can make errors, especially if asked complex or ambiguous questions. Ken emphasizes that AI should not make final decisions alone in home care.

Choosing AI Tools Wisely

• Before adopting a new AI tool, Ken advises home care leaders to ask a few key questions

Pro Tips for Getting the Most from AI

To get better results from AI tools like ChatGPT:

• Define the AI’s role ("You are a home care leader...")
• State what you want ("Write a blog about Memorial Day activities for seniors")
• Set expectations ("Keep it under 800 words, suitable for caregivers")

This practice, called prompt engineering, helps you shape the output more effectively.

Final Thoughts: Give AI a Try

Ken wraps the episode by encouraging listeners to stay open-minded. Like Google or Google Maps before it, AI may soon become indispensable in your daily life. The key is to start small, stay curious, and test responsibly.

“You’re going to like AI as much as you like Google Maps,” Ken says, “once you give it a try and get used to it.”

Home Care Heroes and Day Service Stars is produced and sponsored by Ankota - If you provide services that enable older or disabled people to continue living at home , Ankota can provide you the software to successfully run your agency. Visit us at https://www.ankota.com.