AI End-of-Life Planning WEB Magazine 20260407 [AI Signage]

[Management Strategy Newsletter] Solving labor shortages and improving LTV. 3 latest AI news stories changing funeral homes, including 'AI Signage'

This post was published as a 'Newsletter' on yey.co.jp on April 7, 2026.

AI signage is currently being utilized in malls and other locations.
What I noticed earlier this year is that at Aeon Style Shonan in my local Chigasaki City (Soyora Shonan Chigasaki -- Since there are two Aeons within a 500m radius in Chigasaki (the former Jusco and the former Mycal movie theater), they have changed their branding to avoid confusion, but long-time residents still rationally stick to calling them 'Jusco' and 'Mycal'), JetB's AI signage has been installed.

In reality, it is just placed there as signage, and its usage is limited. I mentioned this to JetB, with whom I have a relationship, but it seems that the agency that introduced it cannot make any changes to it.

To all business owners, thank you as always for your continued support.

The new fiscal year has begun, and I trust you are spending your days busily.

Recently, when talking with business owners I am close with, I very often hear concerns such as 'hiring staff is becoming increasingly difficult' and 'I want to do something about the excessive workload on-site.'

Even from the perspective of someone in a systems company, the speed of technological evolution in other industries is tremendous, but did you know that general-purpose generative AI is currently being transformed one after another into 'AI specialized for the funeral industry'?

Today, I would like to share 3 noteworthy news stories on 'Funeral Industry x AI' selected from the latest domestic and international trends, hoping they will provide hints for solving your management challenges.

1. 95% reduction in memorial photo and video creation, AI implementation in Web obituaries. The rise of funeral-specialized AI
2. Breaking away from sales that 'rely on ace employees'! How to utilize AI sales support systems to maximize funeral home closing rates
3. Rapid increase in commercial facilities. Possibilities of spatial production and unmanned guidance using 'AI signage'

1. 95% reduction in memorial photo and video creation, AI implementation in Web obituaries. The rise of funeral-specialized AI

■ Summary

In February 2026, itowa Inc. announced 'itowa AI,' a generative AI platform specialized for the funeral industry's first 'Web obituary.' Also, business support tools like Kimura Information Technology Co., Ltd.'s 'AI Mikaeru,' which use AI to bring in-house the creation of memorial photos and memorial movies that staff previously outsourced or did manually in as little as 5 minutes (reducing work time by about 95%), have appeared and are spreading rapidly within the industry.

Strategic advice from a systems company president:

Speaking from the perspective of a systems professional, this kind of 'automation of tasks' does not stop at mere cost reduction (expense reduction). The biggest benefit is that your staff will be freed from behind-the-scenes administrative work and will be able to pour 100% of their time and energy into 'grief care' to deeply support the bereaved families.

Warm support that is close to the hearts of the bereaved families creates absolute trust that 'it was good to leave it to this funeral home,' which leads directly to repeat business for future memorial services and advance consultations, in other words, an improvement in LTV (Customer Lifetime Value). I strongly recommend taking the first step toward DX by starting with the AI-fication of 'production and behind-the-scenes work' that takes time.

■ Reference URL

・PR TIMES (itowa Inc. press release)

・PR TIMES (Kimura Information Technology Co., Ltd. press release)

I also mentioned itowa Inc. here. I believe they are scheduled to exhibit at the Funeral Business Fair held from June 23rd to 24th, just like us.

2. Breaking away from sales that rely on "star employees"! How to utilize AI sales support systems to maximize the closing rate of funeral homes

Summary

In the funeral industry, breaking away from sales styles that rely on the "experience" and "intuition" of specific veteran employees has become an urgent task. A next-generation sales support system utilizing AI (such as HubSpot) is a mechanism that converts the know-how of star employees into organizational assets, allowing even new employees to provide a sense of security comparable to that of veterans.
By standardizing the quality of pre-consultations and realizing automated follow-ups that never miss a beat, we support the securing of a reliable number of funeral services even amidst labor shortages.

Strategic advice from a system company president:

Because pre-funeral consultations require extremely high expertise and empathy, it is easy for personalization to occur, where people feel, "It won't be decided unless it's that person."However, the greatest uncertainty in management lies in the resignation or absence of those star employees.

The sales DX that funeral homes should introduce from now on is not just simple customer management."Transplanting the veteran's thought process into AI."If you have the AI learn past closing patterns, the system will indicate "what should be proposed next" during a consultation.

Also, the era where humans struggle with "follow-ups" after a consultation is over.
AI detects the "level of interest" from the customer's website browsing status and automatically sends guidance at the optimal timing.
This mechanism where "the system guides the sales" is the decisive factor for building a robust sales organization that does not miss opportunities, 24 hours a day, 365 days a year.

■ Reference URL

• Eliminate "personalization" with AI! Key points for organizational reform to reduce key-person risk (Start Link)

3. Rapidly increasing in commercial facilities. The potential of "AI signage" for spatial production and unmanned guidance

As mentioned at the beginning, products from JetB and Stellarlink are being utilized in various places.

It's a waste to use it only in the entrance hall.

For details, visit yey.co.jp:

AI is not a technology for reducing staff.
AI utilization is a tool for humans to be more human than ever and to support people.
By utilizing AI and implementing DX, "people" can cover the "human touch" that has been neglected until now.

By not just "doing our best" but by letting "AI do AI's work" and "people do people's work," it will be possible to overcome the next 10 years.

Please consider it, including end-of-life planning.