Washington – October 06, 2026 -- U.S. News & World Report has made a strategic investment in Candid, an AI-powered engagement startup, to replace static resident surveys with real-time conversational feedback tools across senior living and post-acute care communities.
Candid's conversational platform achieves roughly 70 percent response rates, far outpacing traditional surveys
Candid uses interactive voice and text conversations to let residents, family members and employees provide feedback in their own words. The platform pairs quantitative metrics with qualitative sentiment analysis to flag recurring themes and emerging operational concerns. Across deployments spanning hundreds of U.S. senior living communities, this conversational format averages an approximate 70 percent response rate.
U.S. News ties the deal to its 2026 Best Senior Living ratings, built on 540,000 consumer surveys
The partnership extends U.S. News' five-year-old Best Senior Living ratings program, which evaluated communities using feedback from more than 540,000 consumer surveys in 2026. The company frames the investment as part of an effort to standardize resident engagement measurement and bring data-driven tools directly to senior living operators.
Demographic pressure from 10,000 daily U.S. retirees accelerates demand for transparent care data
The sector faces what U.S. News calls the "Peak 65 Phenomenon,