In the last episode of 2025, Co-hosts Mark Thompson and Steve Little present their predictions for how artificial intelligence will transform genealogy research in 2026. This special episode examines fourteen key trends shaping the future of family history AI.

Mark and Steve predict that AI tools will move from enthusiast circles into mainstream genealogy practice, with AI-enhanced apps like NotebookLM becoming more important than the underlying language models that people have focused on for the past three years.

They explore how handwritten text recognition will become more accurate and accessible, and that genealogy companies will cautiously integrate new AI features, first focusing on helping us with our research.

The Family History AI Show Academy

https://tixoom.app/fhaishow

Family History AI Goes Mainstream

What Can AI Do for Your Genealogical Research? – James Tanner (Nov 2025) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SXmVKy1pUPE

FamilySearch Shares Plans for 2025 (Includes AI integration details) https://newsroom.churchofjesuschrist.org/article/familysearch-shares-plans-for-2025

Reusable Prompting Tools

Custom GPTs vs. Gemini Gems: Who Wins? - Learn Prompting (Aug 2025) https://learnprompting.org/blog/custom-gpts-vs-gemini-gems

AI-Enhanced Research

Unlocking Family Histories: How AI Is Breathing New Life into Handwritten Records (South Central APG)

https://southcentralapg.org/2025/08/16/unlocking-family-histories-how-ai-is-breathing-new-life-into-handwritten-records/

Handwritten Text Recognition

A new Google model is nearly perfect on automated handwriting recognition - Hacker News https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=45887262

Cautious AI from Genealogy Companies

AI-Enhanced Browsers

Compliance alert: Do not use AI browsers

https://vinciworks.com/blog/compliance-alert-do-not-use-ai-browsers/

Content Integration with Chatbots

Gemini vs Copilot: A Quick Comparison Guide (2025) - Tactiq

https://tactiq.io/learn/gemini-vs-copilot

AI in Office Productivity Tools

Microsoft Copilot in 2025: What's Changed & What's Next | Aldridge

https://aldridge.com/microsoft-copilot-in-2025-whats-changed-whats-next/

Monthly Round Up: New Features in Microsoft 365 Copilot (Dec 2025)

https://dynamicscommunities.com/ug/copilot-ug/monthly-round-up-new-features-in-microsoft-365-copilot/

The AI Horse Race

The Best AI in October 2025? We Compared ChatGPT, Claude, Grok, Gemini & Others - FelloAI

https://felloai.com/the-best-ai-in-october-2025-we-compared-chatgpt-claude-grok-gemini-others/

The 2025 AI Coding Models: Comprehensive Guide to the Top 5 Contenders - CodeGPT

https://www.codegpt.co/blog/ai-coding-models-2025-comprehensive-guide

AI Licensing Deals

Content Licensing Agreements Will Concentrate Markets Without Standardized Access - ProMarket

(Nov 2025) https://www.promarket.org/2025/11/20/content-licensing-agreements-will-concentrate-markets-without-standardized-access/

The False Hope of Content Licensing at Internet Scale - ProMarket

https://www.promarket.org/2025/11/19/the-false-hope-of-content-licensing-at-internet-scale/

The AI Bubble Conversation

The AI boom will turn to bust in 2026

https://www.marketwatch.com/story/the-ai-boom-will-turn-to-bust-next-year-says-this-forecaster-who-offers-his-trade-of-the-year-9c2a2332

OUTLOOK 2026 Promise and Pressure - J.P. Morgan (Discusses AI market stability vs bubble risks)

https://www.jpmorgan.com/content/dam/jpmorgan/documents/wealth-management/outlook-2026.pdf

Artificial Intelligence, Genealogy, Family History, AI Predictions, NotebookLM, HTR, AI Browsers, ChatGPT, Google Gemini, Anthropic Claude