How hospice charities are using AI

Charities are increasingly turning to artificial intelligence (AI) to improve their support and make them more effective in their organisation, especially in raising money.

 

Fundraising software firm Blackbaud published research in June 2025 that found that more than three in four charities are using AI tools, compared with only around a half the previous year.

 

Using AI to improve support and efficiency is particularly important for hospice charities, which are among those in the sector hardest hit by increasing costs, reduced income, and rising demand for end of life care, due to an ageing population.

 

Here we look at how the hospice charity sector is deploying AI to support more people and keep costs down.

 

 

Using AI to improve frontline support

 

Charities have been using AI powered chatbots for several years to deal with simple enquiries and to signpost more specialist support. 

 

For hospice charities that are supporting people towards the end of their life and helping their families during this tough time, it is especially vital that chatbots are sensitive to the emotions involved.

 

Myton Hospice, which runs three hospices in the Midlands, is among hospices to take extra care with its AI chat assistant.

 

This was launched on its website during the summer of 2025 and has been given the personality of Monty, which is named after the charity’s bear mascot.

 

Information about Myton’s hospices, its shops, fundraising events, and palliative and end of life care are provided by Monty.

 

The chatbot is available to help people who struggle with website navigation and he is programmed to offer multilingual support, which builds on the Recite Me accessibility tool the hospice charity has already been using for several years.

 

“We want to make it as quick and easy as possible for patients, carers and supporters to find the information they need when they need it,” says Myton’s Director of Marketing Holly Kerrigan.

 

To ensure it continues to be effective and appeal to those it is supporting, Monty’s responses are being regularly monitored based on user interactions to ensure it accurate and relevant.

 

 

Using AI to improve efficiency

 

While hospice care is free at the point of use this charity dominated sector is not fully state funded, details a 2024 UK parliamentary report. As a result, the charities that run facilities and services must turn to donations and other charitable funding to ensure they can continue operating.

 

This is where AI can help by putting in place tools to improve the efficiency of operations and boost donations.

Among hospice organisations to turn to the technology is Hospice UK. This membership organisation represents more than 200 hospices through support and by lobbying government on issues such as funding.

 

It’s Business Systems Manager Phil Grace says that while charities have “been slower than others in AI uptake, there’s an acknowledgement of its transformative potential among those who have taken the plunge”. This includes clinical teams within hospices using AI “to summarise the large, quite dry whitepapers they often need to read”, says Grace.

 

The technology has also been used to cut “the amount of time they spend on writing clinical notes for patients by transcribing their conversations and automatically adding their notes into the system," Grace adds. "This enables them to spend more time on seeing more patients each day.”  

 

To ensure Hospice UK itself is more effective in supporting the sector and funding itself, it has been working during 2025 to deploy AI functionality into its customer relationship management (CRM) system.

 

Grace says this has been important to swiftly answer queries such as “who are our top donors?”

 

Hospice UK’s focus on AI has also seen it roll out Microsoft Copilot across its organisation. This is being used in areas to improve efficiency, such as replying to emails, and providing recaps of meetings recorded in Microsoft Teams. Catching up with bulk emails quickly has been another advantage.

 

Another way it is looking to use AI is to make email responses to donors even more personalised, with tailor made thank you messages. This is important as they are more likely to have an emotional link to hospice charities through support offered to a friend or family member.

 

 

Overcoming barriers to adopting AI

 

Based on his conversations with colleagues in the hospice sector Grace says there are several challenges charities may need to overcome to ensure they can deploy AI to improve efficiency and support.

 

First is “a knowledge gap”, he says, adding that “people simply don’t know what AI can do for them”, even those who consider themselves tech-savvy. He urges all charities to show staff members outside of IT teams how AI can support them.

 

Another hurdle to AI uptake is “ethical and moral concerns”, says Grace, which “resonate particularly strongly” among hospice charities. His advice is to focus on AI as something that can make charity workers “better in their role”.

 

There is also a fear among charities that AI could “eliminate entry-level roles” in areas such as administration and helplines, which can be a vital stepping stone into a long charity career.

 

But Grace says: “I just don’t believe the need for admin jobs will be removed with the use of AI, it just gives them more time to complete tasks.”

 

 

Find out more

 

Our 2025 Reimagining Service Delivery Summit unlocked new perspectives on service delivery and how charities can maximise value to service users. Click here to watch the session recordings for free.

 

Our Reimagining Services Hub features regular articles, podcasts, and webinars to support charities in delivering services. Click here to learn more.