Digital Dignity: Why Funeral Homes Must Train for Ethical Use of Augmented Intelligence

An obituary has always been sacred ground. It is where a name becomes a story, where a life lived finds its voice one final time. For generations, that story was printed in the newspaper. Today, it lives online, where words travel farther and last longer than they ever have before.

Recently, Tribute Technology released a national study titled Benchmarking the Modern Obituary: Traffic, Engagement, and Industry Threats. The research examined more than one billion obituary sessions. The findings were striking. Obituary pages now bring in over 3.5 billion visits each year, five times more traffic than all other pages on a funeral home’s website combined.

That means the obituary is not only a tribute to a life. It is the digital heartbeat of a funeral home.

Craig Greenseid, CEO of Tribute Technology, captured it well when he said, “Obituaries are the entry point to the modern funeral home. This study gives owners the data to protect that entry point so families, condolences, brand awareness, and commerce stay with the firm that served them.”

Those words carry both opportunity and responsibility. Opportunity because a well-written obituary connects families and communities in meaningful ways. Responsibility because this space must be guarded with care and integrity.

Speed, Substance, and Story

The study also revealed two things that matter most: timing and storytelling. Obituaries posted within forty-eight hours of a death drive thirty percent more engagement. Those over five hundred words draw twice the audience.

That tells us something important. Families want stories that are both timely and rich. They want detail, honesty, and heart. They want a complete picture of the person they loved.

The challenge is that funeral professionals are often writing these stories under pressure, while juggling service details and family needs. That is where technology can help, if it is used wisely.

How Augmented Intelligence Fits In

Augmented Intelligence, including tools like ChatGPT, can be a valuable partner in this work. It can help organize information, suggest structure, and shape tone when time is short. It can help create that 500-word story that both honors a life and improves visibility in search engines.

Used well, AI becomes a tool that supports presence and precision. It helps professionals write with greater speed and depth without losing the human touch.

And because obituaries are public by design, there is no underlying conflict with using AI systems that are not private. Families expect these stories to be shared. What matters is that only information the family has chosen to make public is entered.

There is a clear difference between writing an obituary with the family’s consent and uploading private or sensitive data that was never intended for release. When funeral professionals understand that distinction, AI becomes a safe and effective ally in the storytelling process.

Why Training Matters

The key is competence. Every staff member who writes or edits obituaries needs training in how to use these tools responsibly.

They should understand what information is appropriate to include, how to maintain privacy where needed, and how to review every AI-assisted draft for tone, accuracy, and empathy. They must know that the director’s oversight is what transforms a digital draft into a human story.

Training turns technology into a servant of compassion rather than a risk to reputation. Without it, even good intentions can lead to mistakes that erode trust.

Integrity, Presence, and Vision

The findings from Tribute’s study align closely with the pillars that define lasting leadership in funeral service. Integrity means ensuring that the family’s story stays within the care of the home that served them. Presence means showing up fully in every detail, including the digital ones. Vision means seeing how technology can expand our reach while still honoring our roots.

When funeral professionals are well trained and ethically grounded, Augmented Intelligence helps them serve families more fully. It strengthens their ability to write quickly, beautifully, and with purpose. It also helps protect the digital front door of the funeral home from outside aggregators that seek to profit from the stories directors work so hard to preserve.

A New Kind of Stewardship

According to Tribute’s study, 65 percent of all death notices are now digital. That number will continue to grow. The obituary is not only a memorial; it is a reflection of how a funeral home honors life, communicates care, and builds trust.

We are called to prepare our teams for this new reality. To give them the skills, standards, and confidence to use technology with both compassion and competence. To remind them that while the obituary may be public, the care behind it must remain deeply personal.

When we teach our people to write with heart and to use new tools with wisdom, the result is something powerful. Technology serves humanity. Stories find their voice. And the dignity of every life continues to shine—online and in memory.

Source: Tribute Technology (2025). Benchmarking the Modern Obituary: Traffic, Engagement, and Industry Threats. Waunakee, WI.

About the Author

Jay Jacobson, CFSP, CPC is a licensed funeral director, author, and leadership consultant. He is the founder of Jacobson Professional Staffing (JPS) in Ankeny, Iowa, a firm specializing in staffing, training, and leadership development for funeral homes and small businesses. Jay is also the author of Lead by Legendary Example and Never Stop Dreaming, both focused on character-based leadership and resilience in service.

Through JPS, Jay helps funeral service professionals strengthen their teams, embrace ethical innovation, and lead with compassion, integrity, and vision.

Contact Jay at jujacobson@gmail.com or 515-822-6325.