This blog post is part of a weekly newsletter written by Elizabeth, founder and CEO of Welbi. Subscribe to get this newsletter every week.

The search for senior living has changed forever

When I founded Welbi nearly a decade ago, it was deeply personal. My grandfather was in long-term care, and I saw firsthand how disconnected and impersonal the experience could feel, both for him and for our family.

I believed then (as I do now) that senior living should be as vibrant, personalized, and human as possible. It’s why I started Welbi.

Back then, when I was looking for a community for my grandfather they had a basic website, but mostly I relied on brochures and Googling to figure out what would be a good community for him. But it wasn’t easy to figure out what questions to ask, or how to validate if a community really did what they said. And unfortunately we selected a community with a lot of promises, but not a lot of lifestyle programming to support my grandfather.

Now, in 2025, it’s not just about brochures and search engines anymore. Buyers are more informed than ever. ChatGPT replacing your website, sales and marketing teams need to build trust with a highly educated buyer, and prospects want lifestyle alignment that they can see and feel. This is the key to winning over not just prospective residents, but their families, too.

The buyer has changed, and so must senior living marketing.

From “Assisted living near me” to “What is the best community based on Grandpa’s needs?”

Today’s senior living shopper is often not only the senior, it’s also influenced by their adult child who is doing the research. And they’re doing their research at 10 PM on a Tuesday, phone in hand, toggling between ChatGPT, online reviews, and your website against your competitors. They can rapidly build comparison tables, identify questions to ask, and rule your community out before even talking to your team.

And much of that information may be outdated, incomplete, or incorrect.

Our VP of Sales, Nigel, went through this process for his aunt last month. He turned to AI tools to kickstart his search – the process was so informative that we held a webinar on the topic. Our VP of Marketing, Marko Savic, interviewed Nigel about this experience.

We learned a lot:

• Over 90% of seniors who move have help from family, and adult children are involved 73% of the time.
• 45% of boomers and 79% of their children are using AI for research along with or instead of search.
• 81% of buyers make their decision before speaking to a sales rep.

This is the new reality. Prospects are using AI for research – which is shaping the conversation without your involvement. That means you need rich, structured information online so prospects feel like your community gets them before they ever book a tour.

Marko covers how to do this in our webinar, including recommendations for technical solutions, like FAQ Schemas, how to update your website copy for people and AI agents, and updating your keyword strategy.

It’s Not Just Search, It’s Fit

Once families find you, the next question is: Do we belong here?

Buyers today are evaluating lifestyle fit as much as care levels. They want to see vibrant programming, peer connection, and a sense of identity. Think about how you’re showcasing your community’s personality, visually, socially, and through storytelling.

Over the next few weeks I’m going to share some marketing success stories from the senior living industry and trends that I am seeing. In our webinar, we also highlight some of these tools like:

• Understanding your community demographics is key to success
• Lifestyle is the product
• Activity calendars are your secret weapon for AI search and prospects
• Newsletters are key to the buying process
• Authentic photos and videos make communities feel vibrant
• Inviting people into your communities creates confidence in your offerings

And in the coming weeks, I’ll be diving further into these topics in this newsletter.

Whether you’re leading marketing, sales, or overall operations, this conversation will help you stay ahead of the curve, and meet families where they are.

Thanks for reading,

Elizabeth Audette-Bourdeau

CEO, Welbi