EP39: 2026 Predictions for Family History AI, Platform Apps, Handwritten Text Recognition, AI-Enhanced Research, AI-Browsers, and so much more!
The Family History AI ShowShow Notes
In the last episode of 2025, Co-hosts Mark Thompson and Steve Little present their predictions for how artificial intelligence will transform genealogy research in 2026. This special episode examines fourteen key trends shaping the future of family history AI.
Mark and Steve predict that AI tools will move from enthusiast circles into mainstream genealogy practice, with AI-enhanced apps like NotebookLM becoming more important than the underlying language models that people have focused on for the past three years.
They explore how handwritten text recognition will become more accurate and accessible, and that genealogy companies will cautiously integrate new AI features, first focusing on helping us with our research.
Timestamps:02:33 Family History AI Goes Mainstream: From Enthusiasts to Everyday Users 04:13 Apps Over Models: Why Platform Features Matter More Than LLMs 06:17 Reusable Prompting Tools: GPTs, Projects, and Gems Boost Efficiency 08:02 AI-Enhanced Research Gains Acceptance Among Serious Genealogists 09:53 Handwritten Text Recognition Gets Better, Easier, and Cheaper 12:18 Genealogy Companies Take Cautious Approach to Generative AI 17:07 AI-Enhanced Browsers Become Standard, Agentic Features Raise Concerns 24:25 Voice Interfaces to AI Remain Niche in 2026 27:36 LLM Vendors Push File and Email Integration for Stickiness 31:46 Productivity Tools Embed LLMs Everywhere 35:56 The AI Horse Race: Three Leaders Emerge 41:15 AI Licensing Deals Change Internet Access Patterns 44:34 The AI Bubble Conversation is important to society, but less so to Genealogists
Resource Links: The Family History AI Show Academy https://tixoom.app/fhaishow
Family History AI Goes Mainstream What Can AI Do for Your Genealogical Research? – James Tanner (Nov 2025) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SXmVKy1pUPE
FamilySearch Shares Plans for 2025 (Includes AI integration details) https://newsroom.churchofjesuschrist.org/article/familysearch-shares-plans-for-2025
Reusable Prompting Tools Custom GPTs vs. Gemini Gems: Who Wins? - Learn Prompting (Aug 2025) https://learnprompting.org/blog/custom-gpts-vs-gemini-gems
AI-Enhanced Research Unlocking Family Histories: How AI Is Breathing New Life into Handwritten Records (South Central APG) https://southcentralapg.org/2025/08/16/unlocking-family-histories-how-ai-is-breathing-new-life-into-handwritten-records/
Handwritten Text Recognition A new Google model is nearly perfect on automated handwriting recognition - Hacker News https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=45887262 Cautious AI from Genealogy Companies
AI-Enhanced Browsers Compliance alert: Do not use AI browsers https://vinciworks.com/blog/compliance-alert-do-not-use-ai-browsers/
Content Integration with Chatbots Gemini vs Copilot: A Quick Comparison Guide (2025) - Tactiq https://tactiq.io/learn/gemini-vs-copilot
AI in Office Productivity Tools Microsoft Copilot in 2025: What's Changed & What's Next | Aldridge https://aldridge.com/microsoft-copilot-in-2025-whats-changed-whats-next/ Monthly Round Up: New Features in Microsoft 365 Copilot (Dec 2025) https://dynamicscommunities.com/ug/copilot-ug/monthly-round-up-new-features-in-microsoft-365-copilot/
The AI Horse Race The Best AI in October 2025? We Compared ChatGPT, Claude, Grok, Gemini & Others - FelloAI https://felloai.com/the-best-ai-in-october-2025-we-compared-chatgpt-claude-grok-gemini-others/ The 2025 AI Coding Models: Comprehensive Guide to the Top 5 Contenders - CodeGPT https://www.codegpt.co/blog/ai-coding-models-2025-comprehensive-guide
AI Licensing Deals Content Licensing Agreements Will Concentrate Markets Without Standardized Access - ProMarket (Nov 2025) https://www.promarket.org/2025/11/20/content-licensing-agreements-will-concentrate-markets-without-standardized-access/
The False Hope of Content Licensing at Internet Scale - ProMarket https://www.promarket.org/2025/11/19/the-false-hope-of-content-licensing-at-internet-scale/
The AI Bubble Conversation The AI boom will turn to
More from The Family History AI Show
This episode is sponsored by the Family History AI Show Academy
Description Co-hosts Mark Thompson and Steve Little return from institute season to unpack a summer that reshaped the artificial intelligence landscape, beginning with the new model families from OpenAI and Anthropic and how to choose among them.
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.
Co-hosts Mark Thompson and Steve Little examine the major AI model upgrades released over the winter, comparing Anthropic's Opus 4.6, OpenAI's GPT 5.4, and Google's Gemini 3.1 Pro and their benefits for genealogists.
Co-hosts Mark Thompson and Steve Little present a special year-end episode, comparing their 2025 AI predictions to what actually unfolded in 2025. This episode is a great review of the top AI advancements in 2025!