EP41: MyHeritage Announces Scribe AI, Dave Vance Talks AI at FamilyTreeDNA, Full Text Search at Fold3, Wikipedia's AI Ban
The Family History AI ShowShow Notes
Co-hosts Mark Thompson and Steve Little open with a deep look at MyHeritage's new Scribe AI, a new AI tool that analyzes records, photographs, gravestones, and coats of arms and provides genealogy relevant research suggestions. It even works on your own photographs.
This episode features an interview with Dave Vance, General Manager of Family Tree DNA, exploring how the hottest new genetic genealogy tests, provided by next-generation sequencing, deliver 400 times more genomic info than traditional microarray chips and what that means for matching, triangulation, and the future role of AI in genetic genealogy.
In RapidFire, the hosts cover Fold3's AI-powered full-text search for Revolutionary War pension files, Claude for Excel as a practical AI plug-in for Microsoft's spreadsheet, and Wikipedia's decision to ban AI-generated article content. TimestampsOpening00:05 GRIP 2026 Course Announcements In the News05:03 MyHeritage Scribe AI: Record and Photo Analysis for Genealogists Interview14:58 Dave Vance, Family Tree DNA: Next-Generation Sequencing and AI in Genetic Genealogy RapidFire45:54 Fold3 Full-Text Search: Revolutionary War Pension Files Now Searchable 53:46 Claude for Excel: AI-Powered Spreadsheet Analysis Plug-in 1:00:47 Wikipedia's AI Policy: Editors Vote to Ban AI-Generated Content Final Thoughts1:08:19 Episode Wrap and Next Interview Preview Resource LinksGRIP Genealogy Institute 2026 Courses GRIP Genealogy Institute https://grip.ngsgenealogy.org/
MyHeritage Scribe AI Introducing Scribe AI https://blog.myheritage.com/2026/03/introducing-scribe-ai/
Fold3 Full-Text Search Revolutionary War Pension Files: Now Available Through Full-Text Search https://blog.fold3.com/revolutionary-war-pension-files-now-available-through-full-text-search/
Claude for Excel Use Claude for Excel https://support.claude.com/en/articles/12650343-use-claude-for-excel
Wikipedia AI Policy
Wikipedia Cracks Down on the Use of AI in Article Writing https://techcrunch.com/2026/03/26/wikipedia-cracks-down-on-the-use-of-ai-in-article-writing/
Wikipedia: Artificial Intelligence Policy https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Artificial_intelligence TagsArtificial Intelligence, Genealogy, Family History, MyHeritage, Scribe AI, Family Tree DNA, Dave Vance, Next-Generation Sequencing, Genetic Genealogy, Fold3, Handwriting Recognition, Full-Text Search, Claude for Excel, Wikipedia, AI Policy, Record Analysis, Photo Analysis, Revolutionary War, RootsTech, AI Tools
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This episode is sponsored by the Family History AI Show Academy
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