Don't Make a Parenting Plan or Schedule With AI: Here's Why

Lots of people use ChatGPT or Google Gemini to create documents. But for a parenting plan or a parenting time schedule? It's not recommended. You may lose out if you use AI.

As a divorcing or separated parent, you have to advocate for what's best for your child. Consider using an app that's designed to genuinely help you support your child.

1. With AI, you won't get a visual calendar

An AI text generator might say something like "the noncustodial parent gets the child every Sunday, and the custodial parent gets them back on Tuesday or Wednesday." While that may be true, it's not precise enough to give parents a rule to follow.

It'll be easier for both of you to see it on a color-coded visual calendar. This calendar, created with Custody X Change, shows a two-week repeating schedule: week one has a Tuesday exchange, week two has a Wednesday exchange. Now it's clear what you have to do.

Try this with Custody X Change.

You can link your Custody X Change account with your co-parent's so you both know the schedule months and even years in advance. If your co-parent updates the schedule, you'll be notified. You can also give a free account to your child so they can view the custody schedule and anticipate exchanges.

If you like, you can sync your Custody X Change calendar with another calendar app.

2. AI can't track deviations from the schedule

While AI might describe what your schedule is generally supposed to be, how will you record whether you stuck to your agreement?

When life happens — you pick up a different work shift, you want to go away for the weekend, you're feeling under the weather — you and the other parent will make minor adjustments to your schedule. With Custody X Change, you can schedule these one-time changes in advance.

Deviations add up. If the other parent arrived late or missed their visit, or if you didn't get your visit, you may want to track it. Custody X Change lets you privately track the time you actually get.

3. AI can't calculate exact parenting time

While AI might tell you roughly what your percentage of custody time is with a certain schedule, it won't give you an exact calculation like Custody X Change does. Precise math is important for getting an accurate child support order.

Custody X Change looks at your calendar and counts hours and overnights — for any period, past or present. It takes holidays and schedule changes into account, then gives you a detailed report you can show the court, child support agency or other parent.

4. AI won't remind you about exchanges

AI isn't going to notify you when it's time to bring your child to the other parent's house or to an extracurricular, or when you expect the other parent to come to you.

But your Custody X Change schedule will have specific exchange times (e.g., 6:20 p.m.), and it can send automated reminders to your phone or email.

5. Your AI-generated plan may not be ready for court

AI may just give you a loose template and leave you to fill in a lot on your own. How will you know what's missing?

Custody X Change lets you choose from over 140 common provisions in categories like "moving" and "child care," all in the legal wording you need. You can feel secure that you've covered your bases.

There's also space for you to write your own custom provisions from scratch. They'll be included in the same parenting plan.

6. AI may leave holes

An AI-generated parenting plan and schedule may not be specific enough. When you hit a snag in your co-parenting, you may end up arguing or even in court.

Custody X Change can help you anticipate details that are important to you so you avoid common misunderstandings. Being clear leads to fewer arguments and hurt feelings. For example, you may consider a certain holiday to begin or end a few days before or after the official holiday.

7. AI may have errors

AI is known for hallucinations: it makes things up. It's only imitating language. It doesn't know the difference between truth or falsehood, and it can't fact-check anything.

You can fact-check AI output to some extent. But you don't know what you don't know. In a long document, an AI may generate legally inaccurate or contradictory statements that slip by you.

Instead, Custody X Change gives you a time-tested template, helping you understand what's appropriate for your location and your situation.

Is one of you in the military? Open the "military" provisions.

Them customize them for your personal situation.

AI could add irrelevant provisions to your plan, but with the Custody X Change app guiding you, you can feel more confident you're adding only what's relevant to you.

8. Your judge may not accept AI

Many judges are skeptical when they read a document produced with AI. The last thing you want is for your judge to think you used AI as a shortcut. You need to show them you're taking your case seriously.

Even if your judge doesn't realize you made your plan or schedule with AI, they still may be unimpressed by the quality. Don't take the risk.

The Custody X Change online app is far more established than AI tools, having been around for over 20 years. Custody X Change plans and schedules have been accepted in courts across the world. You can count on their professional quality.

9. AI companies may use your personal info

AI trains on data. AI can be closed source, which is more likely to keep data private but less transparent about how it works. Alternatively, AI can be open source, which lets developers anywhere suggest improvements but is less secure for data.

Google Gemini, for example, admits it sends your data to connected apps and that human reviewers may see and use it to alter how Google works for you.

Data privacy in AI is a complex topic, but there's a simple way to avoid the question — don't type your personal data into AI.

The Custody X Change app safeguards your personal information. It validates every request to ensure only you have access. Plus, it encrypts your information — both in the database and in transit — and never sells it.

Why our plan and schedules are better than AI

There's a lot to think about when you write documents for court. You'll want a parenting plan to support your child's well-being and a parenting time schedule to address holidays and school breaks. Your custody arrangement needs to work for years to come.

Microsoft Excel and Google Sheets aren't ideal for making this kind of visual calendar. Neither are Outlook, Apple or Google Calendars.

The right software can give you what you need, and the Custody X Change app makes it easy. Just follow our steps to make a custody schedule.

Try this with Custody X Change.

Then pull it into your parenting plan.

Try this with Custody X Change.

To make court documents quickly and affordably while making the best impression, turn to Custody X Change.