The convergence of artificial intelligence (AI) and the grief economy has spurred the emergence of services that enable users to ‘revive’ their departed loved ones. Yet, these companies have encountered a series of operational hurdles. In 2024, StoryFile, renowned for its AI-driven interactive video services, sought bankruptcy protection. Two years later, in 2026, HereAfter, a platform dedicated to preserving the voices of the deceased, shut down, compelling users to seek retrieval of their recordings. Amid these setbacks, competitors have capitalized on these failures to woo clients, while certain firms have opted to pivot their business models. Take Eternos, for instance, which initially specialized in posthumous digital preservation. It rebranded as Uare.ai, garnered funding, and redirected its efforts towards serving living creators and professionals. It now employs AI avatars to market knowledge. Such grief-centric AI services grapple with challenges such as erratic user renewal rates and ethical dilemmas, rendering it arduous to maintain operations solely through the grief economy.