Losing a partner of 55 years is a kind of grief most of us can’t even wrap our heads around. For Alan Hamel, the widower of the late Suzanne Somers, moving on didn't mean letting go of her voice. It meant digitizing it.
In late 2025, Hamel went public with a project that sounds like a lost episode of Black Mirror. He’s created what he calls the Suzanne AI Twin. This isn't just a chatbot that spits out generic greetings. It’s a full-scale attempt to "resurrect" the Three’s Company star using a mix of generative AI and high-fidelity robotics.
Honestly, the reactions have been all over the place. Some people find it a beautiful tribute to a woman who spent her life helping others. Others? They find it deeply unsettling.
But here’s the thing: this wasn't some corporate cash grab or a decision made by a grieving husband in a vacuum. Suzanne was actually in on the plan.
The Suzanne Somers AI Robot: What Is It Exactly?
Basically, the project is a two-pronged effort to keep Suzanne "alive" in the digital world. First, there’s the AI brain. This is a large language model that has been fed an massive amount of data. We're talking about all 27 of her books and hundreds of hours of her television interviews. The goal was to capture her specific cadence, her vocabulary, and—perhaps most importantly—her medical knowledge.
Then, there’s the physical side. Hamel partnered with Realbotix, a company based in Las Vegas that specializes in humanoid robots. They’ve been working on a "digital twin" that looks, moves, and talks like Suzanne. Hamel claims that when he looks at the robot next to a photo of his late wife, he literally can’t tell the difference.
That’s a bold claim.
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Early demos shown at conferences in 2025 depicted a humanoid that some critics described as looking a bit like a "department store mannequin." But the tech is moving fast. The version Hamel is finalizing is meant to be hyper-realistic, designed to sit on a screen—or eventually exist as a physical bot—and interact with fans 24/7.
It Started With a Conversation in the 1980s
You might think this is a recent reaction to the AI boom, but the seeds were planted decades ago. Suzanne and Alan were long-time friends with the famous futurist Ray Kurzweil.
Back in the '80s, Kurzweil apparently sat them down and explained that one day, technology would allow people to "live" forever through data. While most people back then were still trying to figure out how to program a VCR, Suzanne was fascinated.
"She said, 'I think we should do that,'" Hamel recently told People.
She didn't just want it for herself, though. Suzanne was a wellness mogul. She saw the AI as a way to keep her health advice accessible forever. If a fan had a question about bioidentical hormones or nutrition at 3:00 AM, the Suzanne AI could answer it using the exact information Suzanne had vetted during her life.
How the Tech Stays Accurate
One of the biggest worries with AI is "hallucination"—the tendency for the computer to just make stuff up when it doesn't know the answer. That’s dangerous when you're dealing with health advice.
To solve this, Hamel teamed up with Life Extension, a health company Suzanne worked with for years. Every piece of medical advice the AI gives is supposedly fact-checked against her actual writings and the doctors she interviewed.
- The Source Material: 27 books on health, aging, and wellness.
- The Filter: Life Extension's medical team verifies the claims.
- The Output: The AI speaks in Suzanne's voice but provides MD-cleared info.
Is This the Future of Celebrity Legacies?
Hamel even tried to push the envelope by suggesting the Suzanne AI accept an honor at the Kennedy Center. The committee turned him down, sticking to the rule that honorees have to be, well, alive.
But Hamel isn't deterred. He believes the "future is now."
The plan is to host the AI on SuzanneSomers.com. Fans will be able to "hang out" with her, ask questions about her career, or get tips on organic living. It’s a legacy project that turns a static archive into a living conversation.
Of course, the ethical debate is massive. Experts like Professor Robert Sparrow have warned that these "ghost bots" can prevent people from properly grieving. There’s a risk of becoming more attached to a simulation than to real, living people.
But for Hamel, who spent 55 years by her side, it’s a way to fulfill a promise. It’s about ensuring that the "Chrissy Snow" energy and the wellness crusade she started doesn't just end because her heart stopped beating.
What This Means for You
If you’re a fan of Suzanne Somers, you’ll soon have a way to interact with her legacy that goes beyond re-watching old sitcoms. If you’re a tech enthusiast, you’re watching a case study in how we might all "live on" in the near future.
Actionable Insights for the Future of Digital Legacies:
- Consider your own data: Everything you post online is training data for the future. If you want a digital legacy, start organizing your journals or videos now.
- Understand the limits: Remember that an AI twin is a reflection, not a soul. It’s a tool for information and memory, but it doesn't replace the person.
- Watch the space: Keep an eye on SuzanneSomers.com for the public rollout. It will be the first major test of whether the general public is ready to talk to the dead via a robot.
Whether it’s "creepy" or "revolutionary" depends entirely on who you ask. But one thing is for sure: Suzanne Somers is still finding ways to stay in the spotlight, even in 2026.