Behind the Scenes of AI-Powered Bereavement Care

Technology companies are exploring new ways of using artificial intelligence (AI) to strengthen bereavement support, but these evolutions have garnered concerns related to the ethical and emotional impacts.

A few different types of AI platforms have developed in recent years that include services designed to allow families to access video or audio clips, photos and letters from a deceased loved one. Some AI technologies use these details to create a digital replica of the person for interaction.

Human consent and oversight is a crucial part of AI adoption and development, according to Katie Healy, co-founder of the AI startup company MemoryRobin Ltd. The landscape of grief education and resources is rapidly changing as technology evolves, according to Katie Healy, co-founder of the AI startup company MemoryRobin Ltd.

“First-person consent, given with capacity and ideally well before the end of life, is the only sound basis for AI,” Healy told Hospice News. “The ‘family agreed’ is not a substitute for the individual’s own consent to be reproduced. The ‘deepfake-style’ AI asset that could be used to impersonate someone. [It’s] having all kinds of safeguards, best practices and standards about what to share and what to protect. That is part of consent. AI is not regulated, but we can drive that change and be a part of creating what is the gold standard that keeps people safe, even in death.”

Exploring the possibilities

MemoryRobin launched roughly two years ago and is designed for memory building and family bereavement navigation. The United Kingdom-based company features tools for storing audio and visual memories such as photographs, voice recordings, text messages, letters and music. The platform also features resources for grief and disease education as well as tools to navigate bereavement milestones from childhood to adolescence.

An additional AI component of the startup company is PocketRobin, which is a secure bereavement platform for children overseen by a parent or guardian through its Guardian component. PocketRobin is designed to be neurodiverse for children with different developmental needs. The Guardian platform is intended to provide informed decision-making support through its AI assistant Guide, which helps family caregivers answer practical questions after a loved one’s death.

AI has the potential to improve person-centered bereavement support, Healy indicated. However, careful consideration must be given to the way data is collected to build supportive resources based on personal preferences, she said. AI companies need ways to ensure data anonymity and privacy protections through policies that adapt alongside these quickly evolving technologies. Regulatory oversight is needed, but so too are avenues that allow for secure ways to analyze data in meaningful ways, according to Healy.

“There is just so little support [for] something as significant as bereavement,” Healy said. “We’ve built neurodiversity into this, because there are a lot of children with autism, dyslexia, [attention-deficit/hyerpactivity disorder (ADHD)] and other conditions. It is completely anonymized data. We’ll be able to put actual numbers and figures that help create more of a standard [for] understanding what is being accessed and have research-based resources to really shape grief support more effectively.”

Patients and their families have increasingly turned to technology to learn more about end-of-life care, as well as the different types of bereavement resources available.

Hospices and grief professionals alike have raised questions about the potential risks and benefits of AI-powered bereavement tools. Among the concerns is that AI tools are in the early stages of rapid development that is outpacing regulatory oversight. Patient privacy, data protection and consent are among the areas of significant consideration and risk.

The quickly-advancing capabilities of AI technologies may be outpacing the unique needs of today’s bereaved families, said Elwood Hungarter, partner at Premier One Hospice Consultants LLC.

AI has the potential to enhance bereavement support through improved operational efficiency and reduced financial strain for hospices and grief care providers, Hungarter said. Hospice regulations stipulate that bereavement support must be provided within 13 months of a loved one’s passing. Staffing shortages, rising care delivery costs and insufficient reimbursement hikes have challenged some hospices’ bereavement programs.

Having expanded access to grief education and resources through AI tools could be advantageous, Hungarter indicated. For example, predictive analytic systems could help identify families at risk for complicated or anticipatory grief. Additionally, AI tools that assist with legacy and memory building can improve quality of life for patients and their families.

Families have increasingly used AI tools as a social grief support resource, he stated. Some individuals have sought these technologies to address loneliness and social isolation.

Hospices must be aware of the trends in AI bereavement support and develop policies, training protocols and operational infrastructure to work alongside these technologies, according to Hungarter. Human engagement and “strict” safeguards are needed in AI development to address the potential for unintended, negative impacts, Hungarter said.

“It is going to be a hospice’s responsibility to create the operational framework around these AI technologies,” he told Hospice News in an email. “Along with the many advantages, there are also potential negative impacts related to expanded use of AI technology. This AI technology is not meant to replace human engagement; it’s meant to enhance it. Creating balance between hospice operations and financial performance with AI and human engagement will be key.”

Navigating the risks

Public calls are growing lower for stronger AI governance, ownership and accountability, according to a nationwide 2026 consumer survey from Reviews. About 83% of Americans surveyed indicated that they support legislation requiring technology companies to be more transparent about data collection.

Roughly 65% of the survey respondents expressed concern about how data is being collected by AI assistants such as Amazon’s (Nasdaq: Amazon) Alexa, Google’s (Nasdaq: GOOG) Gemini, OpenAI’s ChatGPT and Apple’s (Nasdaq: AAPL) Siri. Nearly one-third of the respondents stated that their concerns about AI data collection and use have increased in the last year.

AI assistants in the bereavement space need to be designed with security as a main priority, said Crystal Bai, founder and CEO of Renidy. The technology platform will soon begin its pilot in Texas. Renidy assists with funeral, advanced care and legacy planning, as well as grief support. Bai is also the host of the Dead Serious podcast.

Individuals’ private medical and personal information can never be at risk of exposure or be used for profit, Bai stated. AI tools are gaining ground in public utilization, and families need guidance on safe, private utilization and the legitimization of human involvement and consent, she stated.

“Grief is a human experience that we can use AI in a hybrid way and not in this ‘replacement culture’ of human support,” Bai told Hospice News. “We can’t rely on AI assistants, but it can be a roadmap. The fear of AI needs to be stripped away, just like our fear around death. AI can enable the living to live and die better. It’s having several safeguards, security layers and triggers for risks built in so that there is a design in place in case the harness breaks.”

The use of AI in bereavement care is a challenging topic, according to Rani Goldman certified thanatologist and bereavement coordinator at New York-based Stony Brook Medicine.

On one hand, diverse opportunities exist for technological innovation to better inform and support grieving families, Goldman said. On the other hand, AI systems may misalign with human ethical and moral considerations in bereavement.

Some AI technologies may help bereaved families better remember and connect to the memory of a loved one, providing a sort of “softer” grieving process, Goldman said. This can be particularly impactful in situations in which a person dies unexpectedly or in a trauma-related event. AI tools can also improve awareness around the dying process and allow families to better prepare for death.

AI bereavement support may also come with unknown risks to an individual’s emotional well being, Goldman indicated. Not enough research exists to examine the full potential of AI in the grief care space.

“Today there are many avenues to ‘talk to the dead,’ which are garnering more attention and bringing hope to those who have lost a loved one,” Goldman told Hospice News in an email. “By soft peddling the subject of dying or dealing with a loss, we are causing more harm than good by continuing to live in the fantasy that we can change the unchangeable. Psychological distress, false connections, isolation and emotional exploitation continue to be riding concerns with these platforms. It is incumbent that we proceed with caution in regard to the future developments of AI and bereavement, and ask ourselves if engaging in these platforms will support or suspend our grief and healing journeys.”