Griefbots and Digital Bereavement: An Exploratory Review of Evidence, Risks, and Simulated Presence.

Authors

Diego Alberto Parra Garzón

Published in

Omega. Pages 302228261505683. Nov 11, 2026. Epub Nov 11, 2026.

Abstract

Digital technologies now form part of many experiences of bereavement, yet memorials, web-based interventions, avatars, recreated voices, and generative simulations are not equivalent. This exploratory review organizes the available evidence by technological mechanism and study design. Xygkou et al. (2023) studied 10 chatbot users, four of whom configured systems to simulate deceased people; Li and Lan (2026) separately studied 26 deadbot users. These qualitative studies describe experience and meaning-making, not clinical efficacy. Web-based interventions show benefits in defined populations, but this adjacent evidence does not establish griefbot efficacy. The review also considers continuing bonds, memory reconstruction, privacy, consent, posthumous rights, and commercial design risks. Evidence concerning Latin America remains under-examined, and conclusions are limited by incomplete historical search records.

PMID:
43012651
Bibliographic data and abstract were imported from PubMed on 11 Nov 2026.

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