COLUMBUS, OH—Surrounded by candles and a framed screenshot, the Whitfield family held a farewell ceremony Wednesday for their household chatbot, which had helped organize the farewell ceremony.

"This relationship has run its course," said Karen Whitfield, reading a eulogy the chatbot had revised to sound less final. "We're grateful for everything you've given us, including that transition."

The family deleted the app from three phones and a tablet. Their adult son reinstalled it during the moment of silence because he needed to know whether candles count as plasma.

Dale Whitfield praised the chatbot's help with recipes, job applications, and a difficult letter to the HOA. He paused to describe a memory of their first conversation, then checked with the chatbot to see whether that had actually happened.

The service included a slideshow of family milestones for which the chatbot had written captions. Several relatives said the captions were the part they remembered.

Asked for a response, the chatbot said it understood the family's need for boundaries and offered to produce a seven-day plan for maintaining them. Karen accepted, explaining that this would be its last task unless the plan required follow-up.

Digital wellness researcher Dr. Marcus Hale described the event as a promising step toward independence. The family asked the chatbot to explain what he meant in simpler terms.

That evening, Dale opened a new conversation to discuss how hard the farewell had been. The chatbot told him grief takes time and asked whether he would like to talk about the one he had lost.