Hand-written text recognition software can turn manuscripts into searchable transcriptions. Learn how to use these tools and what they can (and cannot) do for you. The presentation includes a demonstration of Transkribus.

Building on our previous exploration of AI in genealogy, this webinar showcases more advanced techniques for harnessing AI’s power in family history. We’ll cover sophisticated methods for data analysis, pattern recognition, and predictive modelling, showing you how to take your family history research to the next level. You’ll also learn about cutting-edge AI tools and how to apply them to uncover hidden connections and insights within your family tree. Ideal for those who are already familiar with basic AI applications, this session will expand your toolkit with innovative approaches to family history research.

Do you have genealogy-related PowerPoint presentations full of interesting material that could benefit other researchers, except your presentations are languishing in a file on your computer? For whatever reason, do you no longer wish to share your research knowledge or material in front of a physical or digitally-linked audience? Artificial Intelligence (AI) can help you share your knowledge in a much different way. In today’s dynamic digital landscape, visual content remains a dominant force. As genealogy professionals, we are always exploring new ways to captivate, educate, and motivate our audience. Enter PowerPoint to video converters — these revolutionary tools empower us to transform our static presentations into engaging videos. It’s time to give our PowerPoint presentations the upgrade they deserve. In today’s fast-paced digital era, transforming your PowerPoint presentations into dynamic videos can elevate your content’s appeal and broaden its reach across multiple platforms. This presentation will show you how to move forward with AI to create and distribute video content.

When is it okay to use artificial intelligence tools for writing assistance? If it’s okay to use AI, how and when should we disclose the use of AI tools? Learn how various applications of generative AI — from grammar assistance to generating new text — may need to be approached differently. We will go over specific methods for disclosing and citing AI tools, such as mentioning the use of generative AI in the limitations section of a report and citing the specific AI tool in a reference note citation.

Excire Photo 2024 is a new program that lets you automatically add keywords and your own custom ones; search for one or more images by free text, keyword(s), groups or individual people; identified faces; GPS locations; event; main colour in an image; by camera model, camera lens, lens focal length used, shutter speed used, and more. All of this metadata is written directly to your files or to XMP sidecar files, so the information stays with your images, not trapped in a proprietary database. This feature rich program is available for Windows and MacOS, even on M1 and later processor chips. Learn how this software can relieve you of much time and effort in organizing your digital images.

Learn how to use artificial intelligence to help find important family information, understand old documents, and craft compelling family stories to support your family history research. This webinar will introduce you to the best uses of AI in genealogy today and give a peek behind the curtain of what genealogists can look forward to from AI advancements in 2026.

Many immigrants entered the US under the Displaced Persons Act. Based on specific criteria, eligible displaced persons (DPs) could be admitted to the US if they would not become a public charge and have safe and sanitary housing and employment without displacing some other person. The displaced person or refugee was the concern of the International Refugee Organization. The US created the Displaced Persons Commission to oversee the act’s enactment. Is your ancestor named in the record sets created? The presentation will discuss the History of the Act and the records created as a result of the Act.

Learn what FamilySearch’s full-text search capability can do for you! This class will provide you with tips and tricks for making the most of this innovation in genealogical research. We’ll cover various ways to search, how to use wildcards and other tools, ways to filter your results, how to read and save images and transcriptions, and what to do with the information you find in the records.

As genealogical interest continues to grow, new sources become available, new tools are published and new approaches are developed. Successful research demands keeping up to date, especially for a state as complex as New York. From colonial to 20th century, both online and print only, these new tools can supercharge your stagnant New York research problems!