From Research to Data with AI 1 of 5: From Records to Raw Data—Extracting with AI

Navigating the transition from dusty archival documents to organized digital data is a pivotal challenge for the modern family historian. In this insightful webinar, "From Records to Raw Data: Extracting with AI," expert genealogists Andrew Redfern and Fiona Brooker demonstrate how artificial intelligence is revolutionizing this workflow. Recorded in March 2026, the session serves as a practical guide for researchers looking to move beyond simple searches and into deep data extraction. By focusing on the nuances of AI-powered Optical Character Recognition (OCR) and sophisticated prompting techniques, the presenters showcase how these tools can bridge the gap between illegible cursive and structured, searchable information. This session is essential for anyone seeking to accelerate their research while maintaining the rigorous standards of genealogical proof.

• Context is King with AI-Enhanced OCR: Unlike traditional OCR that merely identifies characters, AI-enhanced OCR utilizes Large Language Models to understand the context and meaning of surrounding text. This allows the AI to accurately "fill in the blanks" of faded or damaged documents by predicting words based on linguistic patterns and historical document structures.
  
• The Power of Diplomatic Transcription: The webinar introduces the concept of "diplomatic transcription"—a verbatim, literal record that captures every abbreviation, spelling variation, and punctuation mark exactly as it appears. Using specific "faithful" prompts, researchers can force AI to avoid modernizing text, ensuring the original evidence is preserved for future analysis.
  
• Strategic "Chunking" for Accuracy: To combat the risk of "hallucinations" (where AI makes up information), the experts recommend breaking large documents into manageable, single-page chunks. This incremental approach allows for a more thorough verification process and prevents the AI from exceeding its "context window," leading to significantly higher data integrity.
  
  Watching the full recording of this webinar offers a unique opportunity to see these techniques applied to real-world genealogical puzzles, including complex coroner’s reports and elusive birth registrations with surname variations. Witnessing the presenters troubleshoot live AI responses—including moments where the AI "runs off the rails"—provides invaluable "critical thinking" skills that cannot be learned from a manual alone. To truly transform your workflow, explore the additional resources and bonus prompts included in the webinar syllabus. These tools are designed to help you experiment with your own ancestors' records and discover the hidden stories waiting within your data.