My Complicated Relationship With AI Creations in Genealogy

Linda Stufflebean, (Empty Branches on the Family Tree) recently posted MyHeritage Introduces Family Infographics and Tribute Reels. Family Infographics uses your family tree and photos to create an AI generated piece of artwork. Tribute reels use photos to create a visual story of the subject. It was really interesting to see these new features in action! Her post got me thinking...

MyHeritage has been at the forefront when it comes to engaging users with AI features. They provide many AI-assisted tools including:

• Colorizing and enhancing photos
• Estimating dates of old photos (PhotoDater™)
• Animating photos (Deep Nostalgia™)
• Creating animated video clips from a photo (LiveMemory™)
• Transcribing and analyzing an uploaded document (Scribe AI)
• Turning a series of photos into a visual story (Tribute Reels)
• Using tree information and photos to create shareable artwork (Family Infographics)

I readily embrace using AI for many tasks:

• Formatting data just the way I like
• Newspaper or document transcriptions
• Helping me come up with a catchy title or SEO description for my posts. 
• Searching for public information on an ancestor, and providing me with research suggestions
• Double checking my blog post for grammar and punctuation

Just to be clear, I do not ask AI to create my blog content for me. While it's certainly capable of generating a post in just seconds, I prefer to do my own writing. And I never use AI as a source for facts in my tree. It's just not reliable enough yet. When it comes to genealogy, AI is no substitute for actual research. As I sit here looking over this list, I realize, most of my uses for AI are data-driven.

When it comes to photos, artwork and animations (the creative side of AI), I've steered clear of using it. I truly prefer photos as close to the originals as possible. For me, even the hue of a photo tells a story. The faded colors, speckles, spots and creases all add character. I don't really care for colorized photos (though I do understand the appeal). I've dabbled with minimal photo enhancement, but I generally stay as true to the original as I can.

When it comes to animated photos (or worse, talking animations)...well...truth be told, they creep me out more than a little. I enjoy studying the subject(s) of old photos, dissecting the minute details and shadows like a fine piece of art. But I don't enjoy those same subjects turning their heads, moving or talking to me. I'd rather let my imagination bring photos to life, much as the subjects and recipients of the originals would have done. 

For ages, family historians have shared GEDCOMs, hand typed remembrances, or even summaries created by the software and websites we choose to use. Family histories may be passed out at reunions, or even published in a tidy little book and distributed to family members. But in most cases, information provided in this manner is merely a distillation of facts (perhaps with a few photos thrown in for good measure). It does little to bring our ancestors to life. While genealogists certainly appreciate any and all details we can get our hands on, the vast majority of our family probably finds these same details boring. Younger generations, with far more exposure to AI-assisted creations, might well find these new AI creations far more captivating than traditional presentations of family facts. I could easily see how they might even inspire a new generation of family historians! 

Another very real benefit may be for the older generations (meaning those who do not readily use computers or smartphones for much more than email). I realize this population is rapidly shrinking, and with them so do the memories they have tucked away. Animations or colorful artwork may very well spark something within them. Perhaps they'll say "Aunt Edna's nose isn't quite right" or "My grandpa's eyes were a more brilliant blue," and segue into stories we've never heard before. While they may be very interested in the facts, they may not have the computer skills, eyesight or knowledge to do research on their own. AI-generated content may be very intriguing to them (even if they don't understand how it's done). Grandparents often proudly point out pictures of their children and grandchildren, or drawings created by little ones and they might very well do the same with colorful artwork about an ancestor. 

While MyHeritage isn't the only site to integrate AI tools for users, it certainly is the leader of the pack in genealogy. FamilySearch.org is also ahead of the curve with their Full Text Search. Their AI integration was done with thought and purpose and has been beyond helpful for many family historians. In this arena, Ancestry and FindMyPast both offer photo colorization and restoration and a few other AI features, but they don't compare to MyHeritage in scope, or FamilySearch in usability. I'll probably continue to focus on data-driven uses for AI. But I'll watch quietly from the wings as others share their photo, artwork and video creations. It will be interesting to see how each of the big four companies move forward, maximizing and expanding the capabilities of AI functions for family historians.

Disclosure: I used ChatGPT to check grammar and punctuation, provide minor titling assistance, and creation of the brief description of this post. All content is entirely my own.

Image by Artapixel from Pixabay

Ancestry API Changes and Why Backups Matter

API stands for Application Programming Interface. It’s a set of rules allowing different software applications to "talk" to each other. Think of it as a translator that helps different programs exchange data smoothly.

In the case of Ancestry, they have a private API. This means only select third-party companies can use it. Currently, RootsMagic and Family Tree Maker have business agreements allowing API-based syncing with Ancestry. Both programs have the ability to add, delete and change data in your Ancestry tree, so accuracy and security are vitally important. Other programs may have more open APIs, and developers may be encouraged to use their APIs to expand their functionality. A good example of this is Legacy Family Tree. While they don't have their own API, they use APIs from other services to offer more features in their software.

As of April 2026, the transition to Ancestry's new API is complete. This should improve the reliability, performance and security of how both RootsMagic and Family Tree Maker function during synchronization. While it's tempting not to update, especially when those updates have a tangible cost and you may be perfectly happy with the performance of an older version — it's important to do so if you plan on continuing to synchronize trees. 

For RootsMagic, you currently need version 11.2.0 or later. If you need to update, head over to their blog for more information on how to obtain the update. If you use Family Tree Maker, FTM2024 was developed with the new API in mind. Versions prior to 2017 no longer sync.

On another note —  please remember to back up your desktop files and media. Regardless of whether you use the latest software version, things can and will go wrong. You always want a recent backup in case you need to restore. This goes for any genealogy software you may be using, even if it's not RootsMagic or FTM. Having a solid backup plan is essential. I recommend three locations. For me, those locations include my computer, a USB drive, and cloud backups.

Disclosure: I used ChatGPT to create the title, SEO description, and minor grammatical changes for better readability. The content of the post is my own.

Image by zeeve platform from Pixabay

Exploring A Lesser-Known Genealogy Resource: Sorted By Name

Occasionally, rather than using the search feature on any given big genealogy site, I'll do a Google search instead. Quite often, the top results will lead right back to one of the big sites. But, if you persevere, and scroll far enough, or jump page by page, sometimes you'll find a new resource to check out. Such was the case when I stumbled on Sorted By Name.

To be very clear, this smaller site aggregates public records derived from other sites. It does not claim to be everything for everyone. It does not claim to be a complete listing of anything. Nor does it have a fancy user interface (far from it!) It also does not provide addresses or phone number (as most databases of public information tend to do). It does provide summary information, and links for various record sets (but they don't appear to be super recent.) There's a nice range of years from the mid 1800's to the later1900's, though some states don't seem to be well represented. And if you're really ambitious, you can actually download the source files (but unless you have dreams of being a webmaster yourself, you won't need to). 

The main landing page is simplistic. For the sake of testing the site out, I used 2 names from my mother's side of the family, followed by 2 from my father's. Each search dropped me on the page with the correct surname, but I still had to scroll (or use Ctrl+F) to find the given name on the page. And in one case, I had to move a couple pages ahead (so the search was close, but not spot-on to the correct page). The first 4 searches I did weren't really helpful. Then I tried using my grandfather's name, and it did return 2 results. There was no new information for me though.

I noticed many results seemed to be from an area where my ex-husband has relatives (Missouri), so I tried a name from his side of my tree and finally had success! Was it an earthshattering wonderful result? No, it was simply a confirmation of a SSN and birth in 1885. I tried another name from his mother's side of the family, and again was rewarded with an accurate result. I was pleasantly surprised when search result showed this (I blanked out part of the Social Security number....I know it's public information but still.....):

Again, not earthshattering, but it was interesting to see the various iterations of the daughter's name spelled out. Encouraged, I spent a little time searching for 2 people I know had several marriages each, and where I'm missing the given name for some of the spouses. Sadly, my luck did not continue.

My results were slightly more miss than hit. While search capability is very limited (NO fancy filtering or full text search on this site), the simplistic format of results wasn't entirely displeasing to me (or perhaps the simple HTML site just brings back nostalgic memories of my first website). They claim to have over 400 million entries, and say search engines do not index all their pages. I noticed some areas tended to be represented better than others. New York and Missouri seemed to show up fairly frequently. While Ohio and Florida were less represented in my particular searches.

The site is free to use, and while it certainly wouldn't be my first stop for day to day research, when I find myself doing the same searches over and over on Ancestry, I might just head over to see if anything different pops up on Sorted By Name. Because really, can one ever have enough free resources to investigate? I think not! Cracking a brick wall might happen in the most unexpected place. And sometimes, a change in how data is presented can make something you might not have noticed suddenly click. 

Disclosure: I used ChatGPT to assist with the title and search description for this post. All post content was created and written entirely by me.