Inclusive Product Design practices for service delivery

The world is ageing, and with it, a vast new demographic of users is emerging. The silver generation, those aged 50 and over, already controls a major share of global spending and consumption, yet it is often excluded from product and service design. This increase in older populations also applies to the design and delivery and receipt of government services. As services get more digital, and with older demographics, inclusive product and service design is imperative for better governance outcomes.

This exclusion could be attributed to a range of factors, such as blind spots within teams, or even AI training data that excludes older consumers. Organisations that proactively design for inclusion stand to win big, both in reach and in impact. The cascading macroeconomic impacts are also clear.

A report by the American Association of Retired Persons (AARP), however, shows that this demographic is not viewed as a key consumer group by business. Businesses, if they tailor their products for the silver generation, could unlock immense value, and this is already being realised in some economies. For example, in China, there has been a boom in the ‘silver economy’, estimated to be worth $900 billion. The older generation both provides and consumes a host of services, from education and creative classes to home therapy and care, with firms recognising their disposable income and leisure as key drivers for growth.

Business practices may help technology teams in government think about ways to make products more inclusive.

Part of the exclusion of older consumers may be inadvertent. As companies rely increasingly on AI-driven tools to personalise experiences and target potential customers, there is growing evidence that the underlying models themselves may reinforce certain biases. Crucial works like Data Feminism highlight that a group’s visibility, and in turn their relevance, is shaped by what organisations deem valuable and measurable. Consequently, older consumers are often underrepresented in the data used to train these systems, whether it's purchase histories, user journeys, or engagement metrics.

In India, the use of biometrics and digital payments have helped expand its economy in many ways, but older users sometimes struggle to access services, their bank and pension accounts, or even make appointments because they lack the digital literacy to do so, or in some cases even the means to access technology.

The silver generation may not be flagged as high-value targets or may not receive content catered to their needs. While these are not always deliberate exclusions, they are real. Over time, such exclusions reduce engagement and further remove the silver generation from the data pipeline that feeds future models.

Inclusive design, better results

Given that this demographic has both spending power and a willingness to engage if they are given products and platforms that recognise them, this exclusion is both a design failure and a missed business opportunity.

An example close to home is WisdomCircle, a platform that connects retired professionals to career opportunities. Back when it launched, retired female professionals comprised just about 8 per cent of the user base and around 10 per cent of all applicants. The product team conducted extensive user interviews to understand why. They found that women were looking for flexible, purpose-driven roles, which the platform did not clearly list out. The team redesigned the platform to meet these needs, including enriched job descriptions and a smoother signing up process to get less technologically savvy professionals onboard.

The revamp had an unexpected bonus: it improved the experience for other users as well, leading to better engagement and uptake across the board. Within six months of these changes, retired female professionals accounted for 21 per cent of completed profiles and approximately 27 per cent of applicants. The key takeaway? Designing for inclusion benefits everyone—not just the intended group.

Governments are aware of this challenge, and have tried to take a step forward. For example, the UK launched a Design System to help improve accessibility of its services to citizens, and has set standards and key principles to strengthen applications. Internationally, South Korea's Digital Government Master Plan emphasizes designing online services that include vulnerable groups, ensuring that older citizens can navigate digital platforms with ease . These initiatives underscore a growing commitment to digital inclusion, ensuring that the silver generation is not left behind in the digital age.

Other industries and businesses have had similar experiences. For instance, Newslaundry, an online news outlet, responded to subscriber feedback that its website was not inclusive or accessible to differently abled demographics. It subsequently revamped its entire site to accommodate different needs and use cases. Users with visual impairments rely on screen reader software to navigate through apps, and the Newslaundry website became more compatible with these. Different colour themes were also offered, along with a Sync With System option, which synced the Newslaundry application’s settings with the user’s device settings. But the changes went beyond just catering to those with impairments. They also focused on making the product more accessible and easy to use, including voice search, transcripts and subtitles, and a reader-only mode to remove pop-ups.

Since the roll out of these changes, more than 50,000 readers are reportedly using the app’s accessibility features, with screen reader compatibility being the most used, followed by podcast transcriptions.

There is sufficient evidence that inclusive design is not just good practice, it is good economics. Whether for older consumers, differently abled users, or other underserved groups, inclusive products expand reach and relevance. The silver generation, in particular, is a mainstream market in ageing societies—not a niche—with higher disposable income and growing digital engagement.

Institutions that actively address structural and algorithmic biases will be better positioned for long-term growth. As the examples above show, designing for inclusion improves trust, usability, and uptake across the board. Designing with the silver generation and other demographics in mind will be essential to business success.

What do you think? Would users be willing to share examples of government services that are designed to be more inclusive?