How to use AI for genealogy

If you’ve been researching family history for a while, you’ve already lived through one revolution, the shift from physical to remote research.

Not so long ago, being a family historian meant spending hours in record offices, ordering CDs, making trips to cemeteries, and carefully handling fragile parish registers. Those of us who lived through it remember the thrill of discovery, but also the long waits, travel planning, and frequent dead ends.

Then the internet changed everything.

The first leap: how the internet gave us remote research

As more records became digitised and indexed, the foundations of genealogical research began moving online. Within a matter of years, you could browse the 1911 Census from your kitchen table, order birth, marriage and death certificates through the General Office website, and access decades of newspapers via the British Newspaper Archive.

For many, it was transformative. For others, especially those who’d honed their craft in physical archives, it was initially met with skepticism. Could clicking through a database really compare with the rigour of handling original documents?

It turns out, it could, if you did it right.

As online tools matured and coverage expanded, “remote research” became the norm. Newcomers to genealogy today often start with Ancestry, Findmypast, or FamilySearch before they ever step into an archive – if they ever do.

But for all the gains, remote research brought new challenges:

• Incomplete or poorly indexed records
• Fragmented records
• Monetisation of sources 
• Proliferation of unverified information

So, while the internet has democratised research in some ways, we have also inherited new problems. And that brings us to where we are today, on the edge of the second great leap forward in family history.

The second leap: assisted research

In the last couple of years, Generative AI (Gen-AI) has become mainstream.

Tools such as ChatGPT can answer questions, write summaries, suggest strategies, translate documents, and even assist in drafting family narratives.

These systems should not be used to replace your skills as a genealogist. Instead, they should be used to amplify them.

ChatGPT is your assistant, not an expert. Just like the internet, when used effectively, it will transform the way we approach our family history research.

I like to refer to this new phase as assisted research; it is the next logical step from remote research. It’s not about handing over the hard work to a machine; it’s about having a capable helper to speed things up, brainstorm ideas, and free us up for more analysis and interpretation.

What can Gen-AI do for a family historian?

Here are some real-world examples of how genealogists are already utilising Gen-AI, along with some straightforward prompts.

• Transcribe and analyse:
  [Prompt] “Please transcribe this 1856 marriage record from Lincolnshire and tell me what information it contains about the bride’s family.”
   
• Provide historical context:
  “What was life like for a coal miner in County Durham in the 1880s? I’m writing about my great-grandfather who lived there.”
   
• Translate and identify:
  “Translate and explain this Latin phrase from a Church of England burial record in 1792: ‘sepultus est in coemeterio parochiali.’”
   
• Summarise a document:
  “Summarise this three-page probate document from 1870, Somerset. I’m especially interested in the heirs and land mentioned.”
   
• Help with a narrative:
  “Turn these research notes into a short family story about my 3x great-grandmother, who moved from Belfast to Liverpool around 1850.”
   
• Brainstorm a brick wall:
  “I can’t trace Mary Ann Pearson after the 1871 Census in Yorkshire. She was born in 1843 in York. Can you suggest where to look next?”
   
• Create a research plan:
  “Create a step-by-step research plan for tracing my ancestors in the East End of London between 1800 and 1850.”
   
• Check and review your work:
  “Review this family history summary for clarity and historical accuracy. Does anything seem inconsistent or unclear?”
   
• Provide DNA analysis:
  “I share 215 cM across 12 segments with a match on Ancestry. What is the likely relationship, and how should I approach verifying it?”
   
• Review and analyse images:
  “Please describe and date this family photo taken in Hull. Can you suggest clues from the clothing or setting?”
   
• Create images:
  “Create a photorealistic image of a Victorian midwife in Manchester around 1890, standing outside a working-class terraced home.”

But it has limits…

Gen-AI: it’s just a guide

And this is important. Although some new versions can execute limited internet searches within a conversation, Gen-AI tools are not search engines.

They don’t “look up” information in the way that Google or Bing does; they generate it based on patterns in their training data in a similar way your mobile phone generates predictive text.

That means they:

• Sometimes invent sources.
• Are often 100% confident even when they are wrong.
• Have no concept of true or false.
• Cannot access Ancestry, Findmypast, the GRO, or any live databases.
• Can reflect bias from training data or even your own prompt wording.
• Produce images that are interpretations, not historically accurate.
• Raise questions of ethics, privacy, and potentially copyright.

In short, AI is not a source; it’s a guide and assistant.

Use it to brainstorm, explore, and summarise, but always check its suggestions against original sources.

And remember, it always remains your responsibility to be accurate, not Gen-AI’s.

Common mistakes (and how to avoid them)

Even experienced users can trip up. Watch out for:

• Accepting results without verification, even if the information seems plausible, it may be incorrect or fabricated.
• Mistaking fluency for authority, a beautifully written paragraph doesn’t make it accurate.
• Assuming it knows everything, its knowledge is limited to the training data and doesn’t update in real-time.
• Thinking one answer is final, try rephrasing your prompt; you may get a better response, or a very different one.
• Using it as a shortcut to “proof”. Gen-AI can guide your thinking, but it can’t replace primary sources or traditional analysis.

How genealogy websites use Artificial Intelligence

In addition to the AI websites we can use ourselves, which can have numerous uses not just related to genealogy, the major websites, software and app providers, and countless other family history products and services also offer AI tools.

For example, popular genealogy website MyHeritage offers AI tools including:

• MyHeritage Deep Nostalgia™ - video reenactment technology to animate the faces in still photos and create high-quality, realistic video footage.
• LiveMemory™ - allowing you to turn photos into video clips with AI, and bring memories to life.
• AI Time Machine™ - which gives you the chance to create an AI avatar of yourself and travel through history
• DeepStory — technology which actually makes your family photos speak!

Meanwhile, Ancestry offers the AI Assistant, which is described as 'a new beta tool provided by Ancestry that uses artificial intelligence to assist you with Family History and DNA-related questions and research. It can answer general Family History and DNA-related questions, offer suggestions, and guide you through your research based on information from our help content.'

Of course, some of these tools are more of a novelty and may not directly impact our research, but they provide good examples of just what artificial intelligence can do, and how the technology is quickly evolving.

A new era for genealogy

Gen-AI isn’t replacing good research; it’s helping us do it better. And just like the early days of the internet, some will hesitate. That’s okay. The key is to experiment, learn what it’s good at, and stay in control.

Because this second great leap, from remote to assisted research, isn’t about changing our goal.

It’s about removing the friction, so we can focus on the parts that matter: analysing records, building stories, and understanding our families.

Final thoughts on using AI for genealogy

We’ve gone from lifting bound volumes in record offices to browsing scanned images from home, and now to having our own personal digital assistant at our side. Each step has brought us closer to more efficient, inclusive, and thoughtful research.

So, if you’re feeling curious, give Gen-AI a try.

Ask it a question.

Test its advice.

Let it help you shape your narrative.

Just don’t forget: the records are still out there waiting to be found, and you, not Gen-AI, are the one uncovering the story.

The second great leap is here. Let’s use it well.

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This article is an original work written by John Beaumont with assistance from ChatGPT, ensuring it is based on original thoughts, thorough verification, and robust research. 

'How genealogy websites use Artificial Intelligence' section written by Family Tree.

John Beaumont combines years of genealogical research with a focus on Generative AI, helping others learn how to use new tools to enhance traditional methods through classes, talks, and online videos. More about John at www.beaumont-genealogy.com