EP41: MyHeritage Announces Scribe AI, Dave Vance Talks AI at FamilyTreeDNA, Full Text Search at Fold3, Wikipedia's AI Ban

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.

This episode features an interview with Dave Vance, General Manager of Family Tree DNA, exploring how the hottest new genetic genealogy tests, provided by next-generation sequencing, deliver 400 times more genomic info than traditional microarray chips and what that means for matching, triangulation, and the future role of AI in genetic genealogy.

In RapidFire, the hosts cover Fold3's AI-powered full-text search for Revolutionary War pension files, Claude for Excel as a practical AI plug-in for Microsoft's spreadsheet, and Wikipedia's decision to ban AI-generated article content.

TimestampsOpening

00:05 GRIP 2026 Course Announcements

In the News

05:03 MyHeritage Scribe AI: Record and Photo Analysis for Genealogists

Interview

14:58 Dave Vance, Family Tree DNA: Next-Generation Sequencing and AI in Genetic Genealogy

RapidFire

45:54 Fold3 Full-Text Search: Revolutionary War Pension Files Now Searchable

53:46 Claude for Excel: AI-Powered Spreadsheet Analysis Plug-in

1:00:47 Wikipedia's AI Policy: Editors Vote to Ban AI-Generated Content

Final Thoughts

1:08:19 Episode Wrap and Next Interview Preview

Resource Links

GRIP Genealogy Institute 2026 Courses

GRIP Genealogy Institute https://grip.ngsgenealogy.org/

MyHeritage Scribe AI

Introducing Scribe AI https://blog.myheritage.com/2026/03/introducing-scribe-ai/

Fold3 Full-Text Search

Revolutionary War Pension Files: Now Available Through Full-Text Search https://blog.fold3.com/revolutionary-war-pension-files-now-available-through-full-text-search/

Claude for Excel

Use Claude for Excel https://support.claude.com/en/articles/12650343-use-claude-for-excel

Wikipedia AI Policy

Wikipedia Cracks Down on the Use of AI in Article Writing https://techcrunch.com/2026/03/26/wikipedia-cracks-down-on-the-use-of-ai-in-article-writing/

Wikipedia: Artificial Intelligence Policy https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Artificial_intelligence

Tags

Artificial Intelligence, Genealogy, Family History, MyHeritage, Scribe AI, Family Tree DNA, Dave Vance, Next-Generation Sequencing, Genetic Genealogy, Fold3, Handwriting Recognition, Full-Text Search, Claude for Excel, Wikipedia, AI Policy, Record Analysis, Photo Analysis, Revolutionary War, RootsTech, AI Tools