AI in social care: Sentai begins Liverpool care pilot

Testing AI in social care: what Sentai’s Liverpool pilot could mean for independent living

The best way to understand whether new technology can make a meaningful difference in social care is to see how it works in everyday life. 

That is why we’re thrilled to announce we have been awarded £18,000 through the Civic HealthTech Innovation Zone’s (CHI-Zone) CareTech Developers Small Grants Programme. The funding will support a three-month pilot with care providers involved in the Liverpool City Region’s Adult Social Care Testbed, established by the University of Liverpool in partnership with the National Care Forum. 

The pilot will explore how conversational AI and voice-enabled digital care technology can support older adults to live independently, help people stay connected, and give care teams useful insight between in-person visits. 

Why real-world evidence matters

Across social care, there is growing interest in technology that can complement existing services. However, before care providers, commissioners, and local authorities can adopt new approaches at scale, they need clear evidence that they work for real people, in real homes, and alongside real care teams. 

This pilot creates an opportunity to build that evidence. We will be testing in everyday care settings, helping the project team understand where an AI voice companion can add value, how it fits around existing support, and what is needed for successful adoption. 

Rather than focusing on technology for its own sake, the project will look at practical outcomes: supporting daily routines, reducing loneliness, helping people maintain independence, and giving care teams a clearer view of changes that may need attention 

Supporting care between visits

A great deal can happen between scheduled care visits. Someone may miss part of their usual routine, feel less connected than normal, or need a gentle reminder to take medication, eat, or drink some water. 

Sentai is designed to provide light-touch care support during those everyday moments. Through natural conversion, wellbeing check-ins, reminders, and voice messaging, it can help people feel supported without making their home feel monitored.  

For care teams, better visibility of daily patterns could make it easier to identify when someone may benefit from additional support. This is not about replacing human care, but about helping professionals use their time where it can have the greatest impact, while giving people more confidence in their own homes. 

Moving from reactive to preventative social care

Too often, support is introduced only after a fall, hospital admission, or sudden change in circumstances. Digital care has the potential to help social care move towards an earlier, more preventative approach, where small changes can be recognised and acted on before they become a crisis.

“This pilot gives us the opportunity to demonstrate how voice companions can support independence, reduce unnecessary worry for families, and help care teams use their time more effectively.” - Peter Otto, CEO at Sentai

We’re one of four organisations selected for the programme, alongside MyHelpa, Carebrain, and Carpe Care. Each will work with adult social care providers and receive study design, technical and business development support from the University of Liverpool’s Civic Health Innovation Labs and Virtual Engineering Centre. 

By bringing technology developers, academic expertise, and care providers together, the programme can help turn promising ideas into practical, evidence-based services that work for people using and delivering care. 

That collaboration is central to the wider purpose of CHI-Zone. Funded through the Liverpool City Region Health and Life Sciences Innovation Zone Programme, it aims to support economic growth, improve population health and strengthen the region’s position in digital health innovation. 

“The Adult Social Care Testbed affords technology developers a rare opportunity to co-produce digital interventions with care and support providers. By connecting SMEs with academic expertise and real-world care environments, we can generate meaningful evidence that helps policymakers, commissioners and providers make informed decisions about innovation in social care.” - Dr Annemarie Naylor, Director of HealthTech and Innovation Growth at the University of Liverpool

Combining academic expertise with real-world care environments can generate the meaningful evidence that policymakers, commissioners, and providers need to make informed decisions about innovation in social care. 

What happens next

Over the three-month pilot, we’ll learn directly from care providers and the people they support. Those insights will help shape how voice-enabled digital care can be introduced responsibly, personalised to individual needs, and used alongside human support. 

For us,  the goal is simple: to show how AI in social care can help more people live independently and with dignity, while supporting families and professionals to stay informed and connected. 

If you would like to learn more about how we support independent living and digital care, visit our how it works page. Care providers and local authorities can also explore Sentai Pro or book a conversation with our team.