This article originally appeared in the ICCFA’s Memento Mori August/September 2025 Issue here.
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In conversations with Funeral Directors across the country, I often hear about their day-to-day challenges. The list of responsibilities in a single day is staggering. Beyond the profound work of guiding families through grief, you’re also playing the part of event planner, logistics coordinator, family therapist, amateur genealogist, and accounts receivable. And all too often, you’re still the one chasing down a doctor to sign a death certificate. I hear a consistent growing theme: you’re facing the pressures of staffing challenges and adapting to consumer changes, and you’re wondering how you can possibly do it all while giving every family the focus they deserve.
For years the word “technology” has been met with skepticism in this profession. Despite building my career in software, I get it. If used improperly technology can feel like a cold, impersonal force that threatens to replace the human touch. But there’s an enormous shift happening. Technology can never replace you, but if used correctly, it can amplify you and your entire team.
The right technology acts as the ultimate assistant—a silent partner that handles the administrative burdens so you can focus on what only you can do: providing compassionate, human-centered care.
A common misconception is that “online planning is just for low-cost cremations,” but data and anecdotes from directors tell a very different story. The marketing journey with a family now begins with a Google search in their living room. As my co-founder, Effie, often says, “There will always be people that want to plan in person… but there are others… who want to have access to that information online. It’s just another tool to give families the option to plan in whichever environment they’re more comfortable in.” Online planning isn’t about cost, it’s about giving families a choice. It’s about meeting families where they are.
Industry surveys & reports back this up. Since 2018, the percentage of families “shopping around” has increased sixfold. They aren’t just looking; they’re comparing by visiting websites, browsing photos, and reading your Google reviews. They’re making decisions before even picking up the phone. And they have made their wants clear: nearly 9 out of 10 expect to see pricing online, and almost three-quarters want to make arrangements and complete paperwork digitally.
So, what kind of online experience are families looking for? Let’s be honest, not all “online planning” is created equal. A simple “planning form” on your website is the digital equivalent of leaving a clipboard on a stand outside your front door. It’s a passive gesture that misses the entire point. On the other hand, when someone makes arrangements in person, they have all the resources and answers they need when questions inevitably arise. So what’s really missing from most online experiences?
You. Your guidance, your compassion, your expertise, and frankly, your face.
A truly effective online presence does what you do in person: it educates. Instead of a static form, I encourage you to imagine a guided online experience where families can watch a short video of you explaining the difference between burial and cremation, or reassuring them that when it comes to service locations, “the answer is always ‘yes’.” When families see and hear you, it builds a crucial connection. And it works. From thousands of datapoints, we’ve seen that incorporating your face and voice can more than double online conversion rates without impacting the average revenue per call.
Once a family selects your funeral home, the real work begins. When your days get busy, the key to staying above water is finding a unified technology platform that serves as your operational powerhouse. A good starting point is mapping out the endless list of tasks for a single case: collecting vital statistics, generating contracts, writing obituaries, tracking down payments, ordering from suppliers, coordinating with clergy, and paying taxes—just to name a few.
This is where the concept of a funeral AI assistant becomes revolutionary. We believe that up to 75% of this administrative work—everything but the embalming and the in-person service—is ripe for improvement. A modern case management system should function like a 24/7 digital assistant. (We call our AI assistant, “Grace”). When evaluating solutions, it’s crucial to look for core capabilities that automate the most time-consuming tasks. For instance, can the system instantly check records for legacy family data, search related obituaries online, pulling up past case files and family trees? Can it proactively queue up communications, from a “what to expect” email to family notifications that provide peace of mind—like “Clergy has been confirmed” or “The death certificate has been signed by the doctor”?
A strong platform should also provide a secure collaboration space where the family can review and approve the obituary draft or electronically sign necessary documents, eliminating endless back-and-forth emails. Look for features that help manage and monitor online condolences, generate printed materials, and schedule aftercare campaigns with grief resources.
This isn’t science fiction; this is the reality of modern funeral home software, powered by artificial intelligence. It’s not automating your job, it’s liberating you from administrative burdens. Technology can save you hours of work per case. This is time you can reinvest into serving another family, developing your team, or simply taking a moment to breathe, preventing the burnout that I see affecting so many in this profession.
Saving hours per case is a powerful metric, but the true revolution isn’t about the time you save; it’s about how you reinvest it. What does gaining back that time actually look like?
It looks like sitting with a family for an extra 45 minutes, not feeling rushed, and truly listening to the stories about the person they loved. It’s having the mental space to move beyond the checklist and help them plan a more creative, personal, and meaningful service that truly reflects a life well lived.
It’s having the capacity to finally leave the office at a reasonable hour to have dinner with your own family. It’s being able to invest in your staff, providing better training and mentorship because you aren’t constantly putting out fires. It’s having the energy to be a proactive presence in your community, building goodwill beyond the walls of your funeral home.
This is the ultimate promise of a well-implemented technology strategy. An AI assistant isn’t just an efficiency tool; it’s a care multiplier. It handles the paperwork so you can hold a hand. It automates the logistics so you can focus on the eulogy. It manages the transactional so you can facilitate the transformational. By embracing this approach, you’re not diminishing your role; you’re elevating it, ensuring that your most valuable asset—your compassionate expertise—is what defines every family’s experience. You’re getting back to the heart of why you entered this profession in the first place.
