What is the benefit of using Am-241 in smoke detectors even though it is a radioactive element? I see the labels denoting Am-241 in my smoke detectors. I am having a hard time understand why Am-241 is used in smoke detectors even though it is a radioactive element. It seems to me like a lot of trouble to use a radioisotope in consumer products and notably extra effort given that Am-241 is a synthetic isotope. Why would Am-241 be used in the manufacture of smoke detectors?

The only mitigating factor I can see is that it has a relatively long half life.
The usage in ionizing smoke detectors requires a radioactive isotope to work.  In addition to a sufficient half-life to make a smoke detector with a suitable service life, Am-241 emits mostly alpha radiation (which is used for the ionizing mechanism) with relatively little of the more hazardous and useless gamma radiation.  See the Applications section in  https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Americium.