Getting Started with ChatGPT for Family Historians

All your questions answered and an easy step-by-step guide to start with AI.

How would you like an editor, project planner, and creative brainstormer for your family history projects. available when you needed it?

ChatGPT can help you organize, edit, and even plan your family history projects—anytime you want.

ChatGPT is Large Language Model (LLM) and form of Artificial Intelligence (AI) which excels at assisting humans with writing. As a human who writes myself, I began using ChatGPT right after it came out in spring 2024. It has evolved a lot in the past year, and now is the perfect time to jump in and try it if you have not yet.

This article will walk you through setting up an account, exploring the interface, some simple prompts (conversations), and the most frequently asked questions family historians have.

Setting Up an Account

• Begin by signing up for a ChatGPT account by going to chat.openai.org on your computer. It's a quick process, and you'll be guided through it step by step.

• Start with the free account. Most people find this suits their needs for writing a few days a week.

Getting Familiar with the ChatGPT Interface

• Working with ChatGPT feels like texting a person. There is a chat/message box where you send your requests, and it answers back to you.

• All your chats are saved in your account on the left sidebar. ChatGPT will automatically name the chats based on the topic. If you would like to rename a chat or delete a chat, right click on the chat name or the three dots next to the chat name.

Starting with Simple Prompts

• ChatGPT offers a few ideas on how to use it underneath the chat box. Try these! Give it a page writing, and ask it to summarize it into bullet points for you. Upload a photo, and ask for analysis. Do something fun like ask it for a recipe from 1920 for a food you love.

• Keep your prompts simple and direct for now. The goal here is to experience the conversational ability of AI.

• With the free account, you are using which is currently Model 4o mini. (Yes, its a strange name.) This model is good at basic reasoning, analysis, and can do web searches too. There are daily data limits in the free account, so if you hit one, then simply wait until the next day to continue.

Record Your Experiences

• Congratulations! You just worked with Artificial Intelligence! I suggest recording your experience of what that was like for you in a journal entry or sharing it with a friend or famly member.

• Working with AI is a unique experience—unlike working computer software programs or Internet browsers we all know well. They are the science fiction future we were promised as children and it’s worth taking some time to appreciate and reflect on our work with them.

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FAQ

Here are some frequently asked questions family historians have about working with ChatGPT:

How does ChatGPT handle privacy?

ChatGPT is designed to prioritize user privacy. Conversations are encrypted. However, like with email and social media, it’s always best to avoid sharing sensitive personal information. Find out more about privacy here: https://openai.com/security-and-privacy/

Who can access what I put in the chat?

Data is processed by the AI reasoning model to generate responses. OpenAI may review anonymized data to improve the model, but individual data isn’t specifically accessed. If you want to stop OpenAI from using your anonymized data, you can turn off the option in Settings.

Is ChatGPT good for genealogy research?

Sort of. ChatGPT can access the internet, just like you search the internet, but it can not find new records for you. For example, if you asked it “Give me all the records you have on the Wilmer family”, you’ll receive some vague unhelpful list as a response. It can not access websites where records are hosted and search them for you

It can assist with research by offering ideas and historical context, summarizing information, and generating a step-by-step plan of sources to search. Just like with all research, it’s important to verify any facts it gives you independently.

Can I use ChatGPT on my phone or tablet?

Yes, there are apps you can download for all mobile devices. Because there are so many copycat apps of ChatGPT in the app store, I recommend you go to the OpenAI website to get the link https://openai.com/chatgpt/download/

Is ChatGPT suitable for everyone, or are there people who shouldn’t use it?

ChatGPT can be a helpful tool for many, but it may not be suitable for everyone. It’s important to consider that while it’s great for generating ideas, answering questions, and assisting with various tasks, it shouldn’t be used as a substitute for professional advice in areas like medical, legal, or financial matters. Additionally, children and individuals who might have difficulty discerning between AI-generated content and human advice should not use it.

What is ChatGPT and what is a large language model?

ChatGPT is a type of large language model (LLM) developed by OpenAI. A large language model is an advanced AI system trained on a vast amount of text data. It can understand and generate human-like text based on the input it receives. This makes it versatile for various tasks, such as answering questions, generating content, and assisting with research. It’s called “large” because of the extensive dataset and complex architecture it uses to process and generate text.

Where can I learn more about using ChatGPT?

For writing with ChatGPT, follow along here on Chronicle Makers. For general genealogy and artificial intelligence conversation, there is a Facebook group. And lastly, RootsTech offers several free sessions on using AI for genealogy.

Now that you’ve started with ChatGPT, I’d love to hear about your experiences! Please drop them in the comments.

Next week, I’ll cover the more advanced uses of ChatGPT available in both the free user plan and paid user plans.

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