How AI will change genealogy in 2026

After three years working with AI for writing and research, I'm ready to make some predictions about the coming year.

Three years ago, I started experimenting with AI for genealogy research and writing. Back then, most family historians were skeptical. Some still are.

But after three years of testing, building, teaching, and watching hundreds of family historians transform their workflows, I’m ready to make some predictions about what’s coming in 2026.

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This is based on what I’ve already experienced. And by the end of this year, I think we’ll look back and wonder how we ever worked any other way.

Here are three changes I believe will reshape genealogy this year.

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Before we dive in: 5 prompts to try right now

If you’re feeling stuck—if you’ve got years of research but no finished stories—I’ve put together a free prompt pack to go with this post. These aren’t task prompts. They’re conversation starters to help you figure out what’s really holding you back and what finishing would actually mean for you and your family.

👉 Get the prompts: 2026 Vision of Success

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Now, the predictions.

1. Every genealogy researcher will have AI assistants

Not someday. This year. And not one, but many.

The tasks that used to take hours—transcribing old documents, building timelines from scattered notes, outlining a story structure, checking citations, analyzing conflicting evidence—will become something we hand to AI while we focus on the parts that matter most: interpretation, connection, meaning.

These are tasks many genealogists rarely did because they were difficult and the payoff was uncertain. “If I spend 3 hours transcribing this estate file, will it help me?” So they went back to doing more research to solve their brick walls.

Now family historians who spent years “gathering more information” finally break through, not because they found new records, but because AI helped them see what they already had.

The tools exist right now. What’s changing in 2026 is that more people will actually use them, and with confidence.

2. Published family stories will explode

For decades, the genealogy community has had an unspoken problem: millions of researchers, very few finished stories. Even on Substack the ratio of readers to writers in the genealogy niche is 20 to 1 (and maybe even higher).

The research keeps growing. The publications stay rare.

2026 changes that equation. When AI handles the tedious parts—the formatting, the citation writing, the structural scaffolding—the path from “research” to “published story” gets dramatically shorter.

And the timing couldn’t be better. America’s 250th anniversary is here. Families across the country are already thinking about their roots, their place in history, their legacy.

I believe we’ll see more family stories published in the next year than in the previous twenty combined. Not because we suddenly have a new found interest in genealogy, but because the existing genealogists can finally write and share the research they already have.

Everyone who has been sitting on decades of research? This is their year to finish.

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If publishing that family history book has been on the “someday” list, this one’s for you.

January 14 at 3pm ET — A live conversation with Marjorie Turner Holman on self-publishing: which platform to choose, the ISBN trap, editing and formatting, and what it actually costs.

Free and open to everyone. [Register here]

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3. The identity debate will end

For years, genealogy has had an internal argument: Are we “genealogists” (evidence-focused, citation-driven, academically rigorous) or “family historians” (story-focused, emotionally connected, legacy-driven)?

I think 2026 is the year that debate becomes irrelevant.

Here’s what I’ve observed: when people actually start making and sharing their family stories, they stop arguing about labels. The doing resolves the debate.

AI makes it possible to be rigorous AND creative. Evidence-based AND emotionally resonant. A researcher AND a storyteller.

The new identity isn’t “genealogist” or “family historian.” It’s something we haven’t named yet. Maybe it’s Chronicle Maker. Maybe it’s something else entirely.

But I believe people will stop picking sides and start moving forward—powerfully—in both directions at once.

What are your predictions for 2026?

These are my predictions for 2026. I could be wrong about how it plays out.

But I’ve also spent three years watching what happens when family historians embrace AI as a collaborator instead of a threat. And what I’ve seen makes me dance for joy over what’s possible.

At the end of this year, I’m going to revisit this post. We’ll see how close these predictions land. (I’m working to make all of these come true as fast as possible.)

The question isn’t whether AI will change genealogy. It’s whether you will be part of shaping that change.

I hope we will be. Together!

Happy Chronicling!

—Denyse

P.S. If you want to start experimenting with AI for your own family history work, join the Chronicle Makers community where we’re building these skills together—with prompts, workflows, and live support every day. Our Chronicle Writing course starts on January 21st and we’d love to have you be a part of it.