AI as a Partner: Embracing Change in the Genealogy World

Genealogy in the digital age—where tradition meets innovation at the home office.

A New Era in Genealogy

I still remember when my family bought our first microwave during my junior high years. It was a big deal, an appliance that promised to cook and reheat food much faster than we were used to. I even earned a Girl Scout badge that year because I took a class on how to use it safely. But there was also concern. Was it really safe? Would it change the way we cook forever?

Now, the microwave is a daily fixture in most homes. My kids and grandkids never needed a class; it came naturally to them. In many ways, I see artificial intelligence (AI) following a similar path. Future generations may never have to "learn" AI in a formal way; it will simply be part of how they live and work.

Right now, I notice a divide. Some are hesitant to embrace AI, understandably so, while others are energized by its possibilities, especially in genealogy. I’m firmly in the second group. I even joined an AI Society, which opened my eyes to just how many tools are out there. What I’ve learned, I now use as part of my personal and professional life, as well as a genealogy research tool. AI has become a partner in my process.

Genealogy has been evolving for decades—from handwritten letters to digitized records, from microfilm to online databases. And while it’s true that we may never uncover every ancestor’s full story, AI gives me hope that we’ll get closer than ever before. It’s even helping me gain a deeper understanding of their lives, suggesting resources I hadn’t considered, pointing to historical events that shaped their world.

Change isn’t always easy. But sometimes, just like the microwave, it becomes something we can’t imagine living without.

The Roots of Resistance: Why Change Feels Uncomfortable

I understand that there’s hesitation when it comes to AI, especially in fields like genealogy, where accuracy and ethics are of utmost importance. People worry about copyright issues, misinformation, and what we often refer to as “AI hallucinations” (when a tool provides a confident answer that turns out to be completely wrong).

But here’s the thing: I don’t see those moments as failures. I see them as opportunities to train my AI tools. I’ve had no problem calling out when the AI gets something wrong, just like I would question a questionable source in any genealogy research. Even published books can contain errors. That doesn’t mean I ignore them; it means I read critically, ask questions, and verify the information.

AI is no different.

What makes AI feel more intimidating is the speed at which it gives us information. It’s like trying to sip from a firehose. But just because information comes quickly doesn’t mean we should trust it blindly, or fear it entirely. I maintain a healthy skepticism when AI presents new leads or context. But I also hold that same skepticism when I read a secondhand account about an ancestor. I don’t toss the book; I use it as a guide to dig deeper.

Skepticism and curiosity aren’t enemies. Together, they make us better researchers, whether we’re reading a diary, a census record, or a summary written by AI.

Partner, Not Replacement: What AI Can Do

AI isn’t here to replace genealogists; it’s here to assist us. I think of it as a research partner: fast, efficient, and surprisingly insightful (when guided well). It doesn’t know our ancestors the way we do, but it can help surface patterns, suggest questions, and shine a light on things we may have overlooked.

Here are just a few ways I’ve seen AI make a difference:

• Transcription Help: Whether it’s messy handwriting or old documents, AI tools can speed up the transcription process and give us a head start.

• Photo Enhancement: AI can sharpen blurry photos, colorize black-and-white images, and help bring ancestors to life visually.

• Summarizing Records: Probate files, court documents, and land deeds can be long and overwhelming. AI can give a quick overview, so we know where to focus.

• Drafting Narratives: Need a starting point for a family story or ancestor biography? AI can create a rough draft that you can refine and personalize.

The key is that you’re still in control. You decide what’s useful, what’s accurate, and what deserves deeper research. It’s helping you do more of what you love: discovering and understanding your family’s story.

What AI Can’t (and Shouldn’t) Replace

As helpful as AI can be, there are things it simply can’t do and probably never should. It’s essential to understand its limitations so we can use it wisely, not blindly.

AI can’t replace:

• Human Interpretation: It fails to understand emotional context, cultural nuance, or the quiet significance behind a handwritten letter or a cherished family tradition.

• Ethical Judgment: Decisions about what to share publicly, how to tell sensitive stories, or how to honor living relatives' privacy—that’s human work, rooted in empathy.

• The Joy of the Hunt: That “aha” moment when you finally connect the dots? That’s something AI can’t feel. The thrill of discovery—that’s ours.

We are the ones who bring meaning, care, and understanding to the research.

Shifting Mindsets: From Tool to Teammate

One thing that has helped me embrace AI is thinking of it not as a machine doing the work for me, but as a teammate—a kind of research assistant who is fast, enthusiastic, and occasionally needs supervision. Let's be honest, our fellow genealogists and relatives can also give wrong information sometimes.

Like any good team member, AI works best with guidance. It may not always get the details right, but it often sparks new questions or paths I wouldn’t have thought to explore. It’s there to speed up the tedious parts, suggest ideas, or help me organize complex information, so I can spend more time on the human side of things—interpreting, connecting, storytelling.

Here are a few practices I follow to make AI a helpful partner:

• Start with AI, finish with heart: Use it to generate outlines, summaries, or lists—but make sure the final voice and insight are your own. I love using it for outlines after I do a dump of my ideas to help me put what I'm trying to write in order.

• Always verify: Treat every AI-generated fact like a shaky source. Check it. Confirm it. Compare it.

• Stay curious, not passive: Don’t just accept what AI gives you. Ask follow-up questions, dig deeper, and train it to better understand your style and needs.

• Keep people at the center: AI can process data. You bring the emotion, empathy, and connection that make genealogy meaningful.

The more we view AI as an assistant rather than a replacement, the more confident and creative we become in using it.

Real-World Examples: AI in Action

AI hasn’t just made my research faster—it’s made it deeper. To truly understand our ancestors, we have to move beyond names, dates, and locations. Vital records and census data are only the beginning. What really brings an ancestor’s story to life is context—what they lived through, what shaped their world, and how those things may have influenced their choices.

One of my favorite ways to use AI is by feeding it a timeline I’ve created for an ancestor. I’ll ask my AI research partner to analyze the timeline and suggest key events, movements, or circumstances that may have shaped their life. What natural disasters occurred during this time? Were there any major community events or lifestyle shifts? What was happening economically or politically?

The insights that come back often surprise me, and they deepen my connection to that ancestor. Suddenly, I’m not just looking at a list of dates. I’m seeing someone who lived through a flood, a war, a migration trend, or the birth of a local industry. Someone who responded to the world around them.

AI helps me ask better questions. It doesn’t hand me a finished story; it gives me the framework to build a richer, more human one.

Embrace, Adapt, Evolve

Genealogy has always been about the evolution of records, tools, and understanding. From handwritten charts to global databases, we’ve adapted before, and now we’re adapting again. AI is just the next step in that evolution. It’s not perfect, and it never will be, but neither are we. What matters is how we use it: with intention, with curiosity, and always with care.

AI won’t replace our passion, our discernment, or our sense of wonder. But it can be a powerful ally in our quest to know where we come from. It can lighten our research load, spark fresh insights, and open new doors to stories waiting to be discovered.

So, whether you’re hesitant or hopeful, know this: you don’t have to dive in all at once. Start small. Experiment. Learn what works for you. And remember, you’re not giving up control; you’re gaining a partner.

The future of genealogy isn’t about choosing between tradition and technology. It’s about blending the best of both to honor the past, inform the present, and inspire the next generation of family storytellers.