Over the past few months, I have been taking a deep dive into how, and how not to, use AI for my research into my family history. It really is an immersive learning curve where you jump in the deep end and try to swim. In our January, 2026 Genealogical Gatherings at the Port Byron Library, I tried to pass along some of what I have learned and proved a few handouts. Here is a quick refresher.

What AI is and isn’t. Short points.

• It is not a do-it-all. It can’t complete your family tree and if you try to use it to try to take genealogical short-cuts, you will find out that you might be related to Clark Kent (aka Superman). It will make things up!
• It can be a great research assistant, if you ask it the right questions and in the correct format.
• It is something you can communicate with in a normal voice, hence easy to use. Confused? Just ask it a question. “How do I help you help me?”
• It will overwhelm you with information, if you allow it. It wants to please, and it will continually offer to dig deeper, find more, make a chart or a map.
• It is a machine and you can’t hurt it’s feelings.
• You can set it to be supportive, comforting, harsh, strict, honest, depending on what you want. If you have written an essay and want a decent critisum, tell it to be harsh and honest.
• It can go crazy and will create events as it seeks to help you. It is called hallucinating. So, you need to check, verify and even push back.
• It helps to treat it like a person who is easily distracted and who will frequently go off on wide goose chases if you allow it.
• There is a learning curve.

In preparing for the Genealogical Gatherings, I asked both ChatGPT and Gemini to give me an basic outline of what they can and cannot do. I put that together into a multi-page document called Using AI Agents. Click on the link to download it. I also found online a powerpoint titled, “A Strategic Comparison of Leading AI Platforms” that is very helpful, and you can download that also.

But, if you want easy, here is a basic example of what AI can do and how to do it.

My research goal is to find information about John Beach, who was a businessman from Auburn, NY who held interests in Port Byron. So I went to FamilySearch and in the full-text search, I found some deeds that I can see mention John Beach.

In the old days, I would sit and transcibe the deed, and since I am not a touch typist, it can take a bit of time. You can see that this deed even runs onto another page. AI can now read this in seconds, pull out genealogical hints, and organize it all for you. Here is how I handled it. First, I download the raw image from FamilySearch, then I use my image editor to crop out sections or pages. AI doesn’t do well if I tell it to start at the bottom left corner and read the next page. Make it easy on you and it. That way, you can be assured that you will not get stray bits from the other deeds on the page. Here is what I ended up with.

And, while I was in the image editor, I took the time to improve the contrast. So far, I have yet to use AI. So let’s get into it!

There are a lot of AI agents you can use and each has it’s strengths and weaknesses. The chart below can help you compare, and it is important to use the correct agent for the task. Don’t be a afraid of being a switch hitter! AI is a machine and will not get mad at you for switching back and forth. You can use most AI agents for free and you are allowed a limited number of interactions or uploads. After, it was tell you that you reached your limit, and ask you to either subscribe, or come back in 6 or 8 hours. And, it will give you a time that you can start up again. I pay for ChatGPT and use the free version of Gemini.

So, I openned my Gemini account and uploaded the three images. (You just drag and drop them.) And here is the most important point, you need to give it a role or instructions. What do you want it to do?

You are an expert at transcribing handwriting. I will upload a deed from the 1830s that appear to be about a land transaction in Cayuga County, NY. Transcribe the deed in full. If you can not make out a word, do not guess, instead use […] to note the word. I will copy and paste your output. Do not search for patterns, I am only looking for a word for word transcription. This deed runs over three pages which I will upload as individual files, Beach 2-a, Beach 2-b, Beach 2-c.

Here is the reply from Gemini after about three seconds – “This is a full word-for-word transcription of the deed across the three provided images. I have maintained the original spelling and punctuation as written.”

Deed Transcription: Henry Ammerman & others to John H. Beach

[Header and Margin Notes] Henry Ammerman & Asa Johnson Exrs Anna Porter Exrx & Josiah Porter To John H Beach 46 Aurelius pt

[Main Text] This Indenture made the fourth day of June one thousand eight hundred and twenty nine. Between Henry Ammerman and Asa Johnson Executors and Josiah Porter and Anna his wife she being Executrix of the last will and testament of Reuben Porter late of the town of Aurelius and County of Cayuga deceased of the first part, and John H Beach of the town of Auburn, County & State aforesaid of the second part. Whereas the said Reuben Porter did, on the thirteenth day of February one thousand and eight hundred and twenty two, duly make publish & declare his last will and testament in substance as follows, to wit. “The last will and testament of Reuben Porter late of Bloomfield & now in Auburn in the County of Cayuga. I Reuben Porter, considering the uncertainty of this mortal life, and being of sound mind & memory (blessed be God for the same) do make and publish this my last will & … (it goes on)

And Gemini will ask you if you want it to do more; “Would you like me to summarize the specific property boundaries or identify the family members mentioned in this deed?”

But nope, as we are going to switch to ChatGPT. I wrote these instructions which include the fact that this is not my family and hopefully it will not try to look for patterns between the deed and my own research.

You are an expert genealogist looking for clues into a family tree. I had Gemini transcribe a deed I found in the Cayuga County records. Pull out all the genealogical clues you can find. Do not guess. This is not my family. I am using this as an example in a class. I will copy and paste your response.

ChatGPT confirmed the rules in this response. Please copy and paste the full transcription that Gemini produced. Once I have the text, I will:

• Extract every explicit genealogical clue (names, relationships, residences, dates, occupations, witnesses, neighbors, land descriptions tied to people, marital status, estate language, etc.).
• Clearly distinguish direct evidence from implied but still document-based clues (e.g., “of the town of…”, “wife of…”, “heirs and assigns”).
• Avoid guessing or inferential leaps—no assumptions beyond what the deed actually states.
• Present the results in a clean, class-ready format that you can copy and paste (typically grouped by Persons Identified, Relationships, Locations, Dates, Legal Context, and Research Leads).

Once you paste the transcription, I’ll treat it exactly as a teaching example and be appropriately strict and methodical—just as you’d want students to see it done.

And in about three seconds, it returned a list of Individuals, locations, siblings, dates and so much more. As I told it I was using this for a class, here is the summary it came up with. (And here is the full return in case you want to see it.)

Research Leads Demonstrated by the Document (Teaching Points)

• Multi-state family connections (New York ↔ Connecticut)
• Probate records embedded within land transactions
• Marriage evidence derived from deed acknowledgments
• Guardianship clauses identifying minor children
• Extended kin named through conditional legacies
• Delayed recording (12-year gap) indicating potential title issues or later interest

Summary for Instructional Use

This single deed functions simultaneously as:

• A probate abstract
• A family group record
• A migration indicator
• A marriage confirmation
• A multi-generational linkage document

It demonstrates how non-vital records can contain dense and reliable genealogical evidence when read closely and conservatively.

In this example, Gemini and ChatGPT saved me hours of transcribing and chart making. I used it as a research assistant to make my life a bit easier. I have also done this with a letter written in old style Italian, asking it to pull out names, relationships, dates and locations.

There is a lot here. And there is a lot more in the pdf downloads. So, feel free to reach out if you need help. That is what we at the Old Mentz Heritage Center are here for.