The Role of AI in Improving Digital Wellness Among Older Adults: Comparative Bibliometric Analysis

Background: Advances in artificial intelligence (AI) have revolutionized digital wellness by providing innovative solutions for health, social connectivity, and overall well-being. Despite these advancements, the older population often struggles with barriers such as accessibility, digital literacy, and infrastructure limitations, leaving them at risk of digital exclusion. These challenges underscore the critical need for tailored AI-driven interventions to bridge the digital divide and enhance the inclusion of older adults in the digital ecosystem. Objective: This study presents a comparative bibliometric analysis of research on the role of AI in promoting digital wellness, with a particular emphasis on the older population in comparison to the general population. The analysis addressed five key research topics: (1) the evolution of AI’s impact on digital wellness over time for both the older and general population, (2) patterns of collaboration globally, (3) leading institutions’ contribution to AI-focused research, (4) prominent journals in the field, and (5) emerging themes and trends in AI-related research. Methods: Data were collected from the Web of Science between 2016 and 2025, totaling 3429 documents (344 related to older people), analyzed using bibliometric tools. Results: Results indicate that AI-related digital wellness research for the general population has experienced exponential growth since 2016, with significant contributions from the United States, the United Kingdom, and China. In contrast, research on older people has seen slower growth, with more localized collaboration networks and a steady increase in citations. Key research topics for the general population include digital health, machine learning, and telemedicine, whereas studies on older people focus on dementia, mobile health, and risk management. Conclusions: The results of our analysis highlight an increasing body of research focused on AI-driven solutions intended to improve the digital wellness among older people and identify future research directions to refer to the specific needs of this population segment.