Last updated: October 2026

By Denae Guadarrama, Content Marketer for Passare

AI can write an obituary in seconds. That can help when you are staring at a blank page, working on a short deadline, and trying to get every detail right for a family.

But AI can sound sure about things it made up. Give it the facts about a 92-year-old, and it might turn 92 into 29. Mention Paris, Texas, and suddenly the family is remembering someone in France. Tell it about a beloved dog named Sarge, and you may end up with a U.S. Army sergeant.

These mistakes can be funny in a test run. They are not funny in a tribute.

So what is the truth about AI obituary writers? They can help you get started, build momentum, and turn notes into a first draft. They can also add generic language, miss the emotional point, or invent details. The best approach is to use AI for what it does well, then bring the human judgment an obituary deserves.

Let’s see 4 tips that are guaranteed to help you edit a draft written by AI. 👇

Tip #1. Check every fact

AI does not know when it is guessing. It may add a date, title, location, relationship, or accomplishment that was never in your notes. While the tech world calls these “hallucinations,” there’s nothing funny about finding out that an obituary moved someone to another country.

Read the draft against your source material, line by line. Check names, dates, places, family relationships, service details, and anything that sounds unusually specific. If you can’t verify it, take it out or ask the family. A fast draft is helpful. A made-up fact is not.

Tip #2. Cut the fluff

AI likes phrases such as “deeply loved by all who knew him” and “she touched countless lives.” Those sentiments may be true, but they could describe almost anyone. They also show up again and again, like a well-meaning guest who keeps telling the same story.

Cut the formal filler and vague pronouns. Replace “he was a devoted family man” with what that devotion looked like. Did he call every Sunday? Keep a drawer full of grandkid artwork? Show up early to every school play with a pocketful of peppermints? Specific details carry more heart than a stack of sweeping statements.

Tip #3. Read it out loud

An obituary should sound like one person writing about another. AI-written sentences can sound polished but stiff. They may move at the same pace from beginning to end. Read the draft out loud. Your ears will catch what your eyes miss.

Mix short sentences with longer ones. Let a warm memory breathe. Use familiar words instead of language that sounds like a press release. If a sentence makes you stumble, rewrite it. If it does not sound like the family, rewrite it again. Ask yourself: could someone who knew this person hear them in these words?

Tip #4. Add the details only the family knows

This is where the obituary becomes a tribute instead of a template. AI can organize information, but it cannot know the little things that made this person unmistakably themselves unless someone gives it those details.

Look for the catchphrases, quirks, routines, and stories the family keeps telling. Maybe she never missed a Sunday lunch with her grandkids. Maybe he fixed every neighbor’s leaky faucet, even when nobody asked. Maybe the family still laughs about the way he called every remote control “the clicker.”

Swap generic lines like “he was loved by many” for moments readers can see and feel. Those details are harder to copy, and that’s exactly why they matter.