Purpose: The elderly are often unfamiliar with computer technology and can encounter great difficulties. Moreover, the terms used in such systems may prove to be a challenge for these users. The aim of this research is to tutor the elderly on using an adaptive e-shop system in order to buy products easily. Design/methodology/approach: In view of the above, the paper creates an intelligent tutoring component for the elderly. It incorporated this component into an e-shop application for interactive TV in order to evaluate it. The component created is both medium- and domain-independent. Findings: The independent tutoring component that provided combined product recommendations and adaptive help actions had a positive influence on the elderly and created a friendlier shopping environment for them. Originality/value: The research proposes a novel component for the elderly that uniquely combines product recommendations and adaptive help reactions. This component can be used in a large variety of recommendation applications as it is medium- and domain-independent. (Contains 4 figures.)