Artificial Intelligence (AI) is affecting a vast range of aspects of our regular lives today. The future of funeral planning is also undergoing a shift under the influence of AI and other online tools. End-of-life arrangements have always been challenging, but it is possible to make them simultaneously less invasive and more personal to clients.
Today, we're reviewing how AI and other digital tools can help you deliver a more compassionate and personal service to those in mourning. Traditional practices are giving way to more efficient and accessible funeral planning that caters to individual needs.
How is Funeral Planning Changing?
Traditional funeral planning changed significantly during and after the COVID-19 pandemic. It is typically time-consuming and challenging for grieving families to customize a funeral service. During the pandemic, arranging a funeral that suited their needs was even more complex.
The restrictive conditions of the pandemic also meant funeral companies had to adapt. Rather than requiring face-to-face appointments, many businesses in the industry have adapted to remote meetings and automated administrative tasks. For customers today, the funeral industry can be less stressful, and they can find a more meaningful experience. Let's review the role AI plays in the process of funeral planning.
The Role of AI in Funeral Planning
Digital platforms like the personal assistants provided by Amazon Echo or Google Assistant are products most of us know. These smart speakers and AI virtual assistants answer questions in real time based on user input. Using speech recognition and machine learning, a voice assistant can help us with so much. The same applies to funeral planning.
The Benefits of AI and Online Tools for Funeral Arrangements
Funeral arrangements are mentally and emotionally taxing for those experiencing loss. People are typically not in the right headspace to undertake the different aspects of the process. Creating the perfect tribute to a loved one's life is also challenging. Thankfully, people can use AI and online tools to memorialize those they’ve lost respectfully.
A considerate funeral director can implement AI to engage the deceased's family. Family members can play a more active role in arranging the burial or cremation of their loved ones using AI, helping them to feel empowered and in control. Users can get step-by-step instructions and suggestions tailored to their specific needs from an AI assistant. Funeral homes can use AI to invite families to collaborate, creating a meaningful goodbye for loved ones.
The Ethics of Automating Funeral Arrangements
There is understandable concern over the ethics of automating a process as complex as arranging a funeral. There might be concern about losing the human touch when using AI in funeral services and planning. However, in reality, AI is a valuable tool to eliminate time-consuming or more mundane tasks. AI gives everyone in the industry more time for the human element of loss and comfort in mournful times.
Advanced technology also plays a role in the advent of digital memorials. Creating an online memorial is one way to have a highly personalized tribute that cements a lasting legacy for the deceased.
What is an Online Memorial?
Online memorials are one way to create a collection of photos, videos, written tributes, and anecdotes handpicked by your clients. Platforms like Memories offer online memorials with various features for users to create a legacy that can last forever.
Funeral directors can include online memorials as part of their offering to add value to their clients and differentiate themselves from others. Amongst other benefits, online memorials can provide an easy central repository for pictures and videos which can then be used to create a personalized slideshow for the physical service.
What Does an Online Memorial Feature?
There are multiple factors that make online memorials appealing to many people who have experienced loss.
Collaboration and Community: Anyone who creates an online memorial has the power to invite other family members and close friends to contribute to it.
Photos and Video: Anyone with approval from the creator can share pictures and videos of the deceased on the digital memorial.
Easy and Accessible: Online tools like Memories use AI and clever web design to make it easy for anyone to use.
Secure and Eternal: The memorials created with Memories are secure because of their SSL encryption. Users can share moments like pictures and celebrate the life of their loved one without worrying about being hacked or having their information leaked. Digital memorials also last forever on the cloud.
Online memorials are a perfect way for clients to remember their loved ones in a unique way in the modern world. In a time where so many of us use social media every day, it seems natural to use digital memorials.
The Future of AI
There's no escaping the reality that AI is becoming commonplace in our lives. The connectedness people gain from using the internet means they can mourn together even if they’re spread over a great distance. Having easy access to the online memorial for a loved one helps spread their legacy far and wide. The best parts of AI can help us shoulder some of the worst parts of funeral planning.
Please don’t hesitate to contact Memories to find out more about how they can help you provide superior service to your clients.
