First, protect what you have. If you or your family recorded with StoryFile, check your account now, download any videos you can, and keep copies in two places, like your computer and a cloud drive. When a company goes through bankruptcy, what happens to its services can change with little warning.
Then decide what you actually want. StoryFile played back real recorded answers. Other tools take different approaches: some turn weekly questions into a printed book, some keep the recordings as an archive, and some, like AIGriefBot, build an AI companion from the person's interview answers and stories that your family can talk with. Each has trade-offs, and the right one depends on whether you want their exact words played back, a book on the shelf, or a conversation.
How AIGriefBot's Legacy works
A guided interview
The person answers questions across every chapter of their life, at their own pace, typing or talking. A child or grandchild can sit with them and help. Already recorded interviews somewhere else? Upload the transcripts.
Their stories, kept whole
Long stories stay in one piece, in their words, and several recording sessions can add to the same story.
A companion the family can talk with
Grandchildren can ask it questions and hear the stories told the way they were told, always clearly an AI recreation, never pretending to be them. Add a recording and it can answer in a voice modelled on theirs.
What it can't do
- It isn't a video recording of them. If seeing their real face answering is what matters most, also keep plain video recordings of them telling stories; your phone is enough.
- An AI companion answers from what was recorded. It won't know things they never said, and it says so.
- No company lasts forever, ours included. Whatever you choose, keep your own copies of recordings and transcripts. AIGriefBot lets you download everything at any time.
Questions people ask
What happened to StoryFile?
StoryFile filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in May 2024. Check the company's own site for its current status before relying on it, and download anything you've recorded there.
Can I use my StoryFile recordings with AIGriefBot?
If you can download the videos or transcripts, yes, the transcripts can be imported into a Legacy interview, and a short audio clip can create a voice. Keep the original files too.
What does AIGriefBot cost?
Free to start a legacy and try a sample of the interview. The Legacy Package is $299 once, with the first year of storage included and $49 a year after.
Is it only for people who have died?
No. Legacy is made while the person is living, ideally with them, so their stories are in their own words.
From the journal
More guides: What is a grief bot? · A husband or wife who died · Hearing their voice again · Storyworth alternative