"MeBo Leaves a Piece of You Behind": Designing a Relational Voice-Based Memory Companion for Older Adults

Abstract: Autobiographical remembering supports identity, well-being, and social connection in later life, yet voice-based memory technologies largely rely on isolated prompts. We designed and built MeBo, a fully functional relational voice-based memory companion, through participatory design with 11 older adults. Their accounts shaped four Design Strategies that guided MeBo's interaction design and multi-agent implementation. In a mixed-methods evaluation with 20 older adults, participants found MeBo exceptionally usable (SUS = 87.75), enjoyable, sociable, emotionally responsive, and trustworthy. Participants reported higher positive affect and momentary social connection and lower negative affect after the session than before. Participants described how MeBo followed their stories, returned to earlier memories, adapted to their preferences, and made its growing memory visible and controllable. MeBo's relational framing surfaces tensions around what it should remember, who may access memories produced through interaction, and what becomes of them when the user or MeBo is no longer present.