AI wants to become your family’s chief of staff. Should you let it?

Parents say a never-ending deluge of emails, notifications, group chats, and pings from apps for activities ranging from scouting to soccer has turned family life into an exercise in information management. A growing number of startups say the solution is artificial intelligence. “I get anywhere from 20 to 40 emails related to kid stuff every single day,” says David Reich, founder and CEO of Fambot, which on Tuesday launched its AI “chief of staff” for families. “I’m in about 10 different WhatsApp groups. I’m trying to get work done while it’s ringing like a slot machine in my pocket.” Fambot, which had already signed up about 1,000 families before its launch, can pull data from emails, online calendars, a newly launched WhatsApp integration, and a growing number of other apps. It can then generate a daily digest of what parents need to know, delivered by text or email or through new Android and iOS apps, and add family events to online calendars upon request. Parents can use the app to check off items from a to-do list or coordinate who’s taking care of which tasks. The AI can also provide a variety of assistance with planning events, from generating suggested grocery lists for a…