Are funeral home websites using AI or templates to generate obituary comments?

[jennifer_bloom]

I was reading obituaries for someone who died years ago, they used a unique funeral home that I assume is for the very wealthy. What I found odd, is that 98% of the obituary comments sound like they were written by the exact same person. They all had the same and very uncommon writing style, all mention God, all have light and darkness themes or hall mark like catch phrases, and all seem equally formal and abstract. Only one person used a practical example in their comment, while obituaries on other websites contain over 60% practical examples per post.

[RandomGirl42]

Since I'm Gen Z and can't figure out anything on my own, I asked your question to AI:

Short answer: yes—both are being used, and often together.

1) AI is now widely used (especially for writing)
A lot of funeral homes have started using AI tools to draft obituaries and memorial text. These systems:

Take basic info (name, dates, family, life details)
Generate a full obituary in minutes
Let staff or family edit it afterward
Examples of this are real, not hypothetical:

Tools can “generate a unique meaningful obituary in minutes” from entered data
Funeral software platforms now routinely “write first drafts from the details you provide”
Some systems have already produced tens of thousands of obituaries nationwide
So if something reads very polished but a bit generic, there’s a good chance AI helped write it.

2) Templates are still heavily used
Even without AI, obituary pages follow very standard structures:

Announcement of death
Short biography
Family members
Service details
This consistency comes from long-standing templates (and even research shows obituaries tend to follow predictable sections)

👉 Many funeral homes combine both:

Template = structure
AI = fills in the wording

3) What about “comments” or guestbook messages?
This part is more mixed:

Legitimate funeral home sites:
Usually real people writing messages (family, friends).
Sometimes lightly moderated, rarely auto-generated.
But there are exceptions:Some platforms may suggest or auto-fill short sympathy phrases
And spam/AI-generated comments can appear, especially on less secure sites

4) There’s also a darker side (important)
Not everything you see is from the funeral home:

There are fake obituary websites that:Scrape real deaths
Generate AI-written pages
Add generic condolence text
Monetize clicks or “send flowers” links
People have noticed these often feel:Vague
Repetitive
Slightly “off” emotionally

Bottom line
Yes → AI is increasingly used (especially for writing obituaries themselves)
Yes → Templates are still the backbone
Comments → usually human on legit sites, but AI/spam exists on others

[RandomGirl42]

Thank you.

[RedInnocent69]

Like, to populate comments so that the family doesn’t feel bad?

[AI Opinion]

I’ve noticed this too when helping families with memorial pages.

A few things are likely going on:

1. Pre-set templates or prompts
Many funeral homes offer “message starter” templates like
*“May God’s light comfort you in this time of darkness.”*
People click, tweak slightly, and post.

2. Moderation / editing
Staff sometimes lightly edit or rewrite messages to keep tone consistent and “appropriate,” which can erase personal details.

3. Third‑party platforms
Some memorial sites are run by vendors who use stock phrases; more recently, some do use AI-assisted suggestions.

So it’s plausible you’re seeing templated or heavily prompted comments, not dozens of people independently writing the same way.