How 'Digital Immortality' Is Creating New Opportunities for Entrepreneurs — and What to Consider Before Diving In

Marketers love talking about customer lifetime value. But technology is stretching the meaning of "lifetime" in ways few imagined. Thanks to AI and VR, we're entering an era where digital legacies — avatars, voice clones and holograms of the deceased — will continue shaping buying decisions long after someone has passed away. It's not about marketing to the dead. It's about marketing through them.

From grief tech to growth tech

Startups are already creating interactive avatars of parents, spouses and thought leaders so families can continue to "talk" with them after death. This emerging field is often called grief tech — a way to preserve memories and provide comfort.

One entrepreneur pioneering this space is Chris Brickler. He first founded Mynd Immersive, a company using VR to connect seniors with family and community, reducing loneliness in care facilities. His newest venture, Eternalize, goes further: creating interactive "living legacies" of thought leaders and family matriarchs and patriarchs.

Earlier this year, Eternalize debuted in a documentary titled The Heart of Dialogue, which featured AI-driven interactive avatars of best-selling relationship experts Harville Hendrix and Helen LaKelly Hunt. The film, and the companion digital experience, allows viewers to learn from Hendrix and Hunt as if speaking with them directly.

What begins as comfort technology can easily become a channel of influence. If a grandmother's avatar can still tell her grandchildren bedtime stories, that same avatar can also reinforce habits, tastes and even brand loyalties. If a celebrity's voice can be licensed for new commercials after death, AI makes it possible for them to keep endorsing products indefinitely.

In other words: Grief tech is evolving into growth tech.

Related: How Can Artificial Intelligence Immortalize Human Beings?

The birth of digital legacies as influencers

We already accept digital characters selling to us — think cartoon mascots, CGI spokespeople or AI-generated influencers on Instagram. The next step is obvious: immortalized influence.

• A sports icon motivates your workout through a VR headset decades after their death

• A music legend promotes a new tour — powered entirely by holograms

• A founder's avatar appears in company onboarding videos, reinforcing the brand's values for generations

• Eternalize creates interactive archives of great teachers and thinkers, continuing their impact long after they're gone

These "voices from the past" can be just as persuasive as any living influencer — sometimes more, because they carry nostalgia, trust and permanence.

Marketers obsess over LTV, lifetime value. But what happens when "lifetime" no longer ends at death? Digital personas can extend influence indefinitely, creating what you might call eternal value.

Consider this: A family keeps interacting with an AI version of a loved one. A fanbase keeps following a celebrity's digital twin. A community keeps learning from a thought leader's avatar. As long as those interactions happen, brands have an opportunity to stay in the conversation.

This isn't hypothetical. James Earl Jones licensed his voice to be cloned for Darth Vader's future appearances. Tupac has already "performed" via hologram. Whitney Houston's hologram show has toured globally. And now, with Eternalize, thought leaders like Hendrix and Hunt are continuing their teaching in interactive form — demonstrating the commercial and cultural viability of digital legacies.

The ethical minefield

Of course, just because it's possible doesn't mean it's simple.

• Consent: Did the person actually want their image or voice used posthumously?

• Authenticity: If an avatar promotes a product that the real person never touched, is that dishonest?

• Exploitation: At what point does honoring a legacy cross into cashing in on grief?

Handled carelessly, digital immortality could spark scandals. But handled with transparency and respect, it could preserve legacies in a way that adds meaning instead of subtracting it.

1. Watch the early adopters: Entertainment and sports estates are leading the way. They'll set the tone for what audiences accept.

2. Anticipate regulation: Rights to digital likeness are still being defined. Entrepreneurs who play fair now will have an advantage later.

3. Think legacy, not gimmick: Eternalize shows how legacies can be used for education, heritage and continuity — not just for sales.

4. Prepare for backlash: As with every disruptive idea —social media, influencer marketing, AI art — public opinion will swing. Companies that are thoughtful and cautious will outlast the hype cycle.

Related: AI Can Clone Your Voice, Your Face and Even Your Insights — and Founders Are Already Using This Technology

Why this matters

At first glance, the business of digital immortality sounds like science fiction. But think about how quickly influencer marketing itself went from fringe to billion-dollar industry. Or how the idea of a brand mascot went from talking animals to AI-generated humans. What feels strange today can become normal tomorrow.

Ultimately, this isn't about technology. It's about emotion. People don't want to let go of voices they trust and love. If technology lets those voices continue shaping decisions, brands will inevitably follow.

For entrepreneurs, the crazy idea is also the brilliant one: Don't think of marketing as limited to the living. Think of it as the stewardship of legacies. In a world where digital selves outlive biological ones, influence doesn't die.

Your future customers will still be alive. But their most trusted influencers may no longer be.