Jay Jacobson, licensed funeral director, consultant, author, and founder of Jacobson Professional Staffing, presented “Augmented Intelligence in Funeral Service: Keeping it Human” at the Funeral Directors Association of Kentucky in Louisville, Kentucky.
The presentation focused on how augmented intelligence can help funeral service professionals reduce administrative friction, improve communication, support staff training, and strengthen organizational culture while keeping compassion, judgment, and human connection at the center of care
“Augmented Intelligence is not about replacing the funeral professional,” Jacobson said. “It is about helping us organize information, reduce repetitive work, and create more time for the human moments that families remember most.”
During the session, Jacobson addressed practical applications for augmented intelligence in funeral service, including obituary drafting, family email communication, memorial package development, staff onboarding materials, standard operating procedures, internal communication, and mission-focused messaging.
A central message of the presentation was that AI should support presence, not replace it. Jacobson emphasized that while augmented intelligence can help create first drafts and organize information more quickly, funeral professionals must remain responsible for review, tone, accuracy, confidentiality, and ethical use.
“We are not trying to automate care,” Jacobson said. “We are trying to protect it.”
Jacobson also discussed the importance of training AI tools around a funeral home’s mission, values, communication standards, and preferred tone. When used responsibly, Augmented Intelligence can help ensure that family-facing messages and internal communications consistently reflect compassion, integrity, respect, accessibility, and clarity.
The presentation included responsible AI guardrails for funeral homes, such as defining the purpose of AI use, clarifying appropriate tasks, requiring human review, protecting confidential information, verifying accuracy, training staff responsibly, and reviewing policies as tools continue to evolve.
“AI is a powerful tool, but it is not self-governing,” Jacobson said. “Families trust funeral professionals with deeply personal information. Every obituary, email, social media post, and internal message carries real human consequences. That makes responsible AI use a leadership responsibility.”
Jacobson challenged funeral professionals to think beyond efficiency alone. The goal, he explained, is not simply to save time, but to create alignment between technology, mission,
communication, staff expectations, and family care.
“Augmented Intelligence does not make funeral service,” Jacobson said. “You do.”
About Jay Jacobson
Jay Jacobson is a licensed funeral director, consultant, author, speaker, and founder of Jacobson Professional Staffing in Ankeny, Iowa. Through JPS, he serves funeral homes and small businesses with professional staffing, interim leadership, removal technician training, CEU courses, and consulting services. His leadership work focuses on compassion, integrity, respect, accessibility, practical training, and helping funeral service professionals serve families with confidence and care.
