We’re always looking for tools and strategies to ease the conflict that often arises between separated parents during communication.
Specialist parenting apps that use AI
One approach that’s gaining popularity is the use of co-parenting apps — digital tools that are designed to help separated parents manage schedules, share information, and keep communication focused on the children.
Apps like Our Family Wizard include features such as a ‘ToneMeter’ which helps monitor the tone of messages before they’re sent. While this can be effective, the app is expensive, and the question of who pays for it can itself become a new source of conflict.
Other options, like AppClose, offer many of the same features for free, though they lack tone-monitoring tools.
AI has become a hot topic in our peer-support groups and reports are coming in that it offers a huge benefit when drafting responses to messages. Asking AI to reformulate a draft response in a neutral tone prevents flare-ups and can nip conflict in the bud.
One free app that offers such features is Goblin Formalizer. It takes a casual or emotional message and rewrites it in a more formal, neutral tone, helping to take the heat out of a conversation.
Think Before You Text: Sometimes the Smartest Reply Is No Reply
It can be obvious to the recipient of the AI response that the message has a robotic tone to it and not the ‘shoot from the hip’ response they were expecting, but that is the whole point of using an AI intermediary.
The golden rule is the best response to a terse message is no response. If a response is necessary, we always remind dads that anything that is in writing is called evidence. But for those times when a response is required, AI apps are coming up with some really good options.
ChatGPT: The Right Words Start with the Right Prompt
For those new to AI, a great starting point is ChatGPT, one of the most widely used free tools, available online or as an app. The real trick to getting useful responses lies in the prompt you give it. For example: “Rewrite this in a neutral tone for co-parenting,” or “Make this message sound respectful and focused on the kids.” With the right prompt, AI can be a powerful tool for keeping communication calm, clear, and child-focused.
