Ancestry Expands AI Image Transcript Tool Beyond Letters and Diaries

Ancestry’s AI Image Transcript tool now works with more record types, including certificates and newspapers.

Back in March, I shared news about Ancestry’s new AI-powered Image Transcript tool, which was first introduced as a way to transcribe journals, diaries, and letters uploaded to your family tree. At that time, its focus was primarily on family-uploaded narrative documents.

But recently, I noticed something exciting: the tool now seems to handle more document types than it did at launch. While still in BETA, this update shows that Ancestry is actively working to improve and expand the capabilities of the feature.

What’s New? Expanded Document Types

Over the past week, I tested the tool with several different records—well beyond diaries and letters—and here’s what I found:

• 📄 Death Certificate – I uploaded the death certificate of my 2nd great-grandfather, Samuel Steinman. The tool did manage to pull out much of the handwritten text, though formatting and interpretation weren’t always spot-on.

Ancestry AI Image Transcript Update- Example 1, Death Certificate

Ancestry AI Image Transcript Update- Example 1-2, Death Certificate

Ancestry AI Image Transcript Update- Example 1-3, Death Certificate

Ancestry AI Image Transcript Update- Example 1-4, Death Certificate

• 📰 Newspaper Article – Next, I tried a “Card of Thanks” notice published for my great-grandfather’s brother, Arthur Steinman. The tool recognized a surprising amount of the text, though a few words were garbled.

Ancestry AI Image Transcript Update- Example 2, Newspaper Article

• ⚖️ Probate Record – I also tested a probate record for my 3rd great-grandfather, Peter Steinman. Legal documents can be tricky, but the tool was able to capture a fair amount of the content.

Ancestry AI Image Transcript Update- Example 3, Probate Record

• 📖 Bible Page (Marriages) – Finally, I uploaded a marriages page from my 3rd great-grandfather George W. Taylor’s Bible. Once again, the AI gave me a usable transcription—though, as with all handwriting, accuracy varied.

Ancestry AI Image Transcript Update- Example 4, BIble Page

How Well Does It Work?

The results were decent, especially considering the wide variety of documents I tried. That said, as we all know, AI is not perfect yet, and Ancestry’s version is no exception. There were plenty of mistakes—especially with older handwriting and dense formatting. Still, I was impressed by how far the tool has already come since its initial rollout.

Why This Matters

This expansion is exciting because it hints at where Ancestry is headed. The more document types the Image Transcript tool can handle, the more useful it will become for genealogists working with everything from family letters to official certificates and records. Even if the tool doesn’t yet provide perfect accuracy, it can serve as a time-saving first draft, helping us decipher difficult handwriting or lengthy documents.

Final Thoughts

Ancestry’s AI Image Transcript tool is clearly evolving. What started as a way to transcribe family-uploaded journals and letters now appears to cover a broader range of documents—including certificates, newspaper clippings, and probate records. While it’s still in BETA and prone to errors, the progress in just a short amount of time is encouraging.

If you haven’t tried this tool in a while, it may be worth giving it another test—you might be surprised at what it can handle now.

Have you experimented with different types of documents in the Image Transcript tool? Share your results in the comments—I’d love to hear what you’ve discovered!

​More Ancestry and Genealogy Resources

Learn about more Ancestry updates, tips, tools, and features and other family history and genealogy resources under the Ancestry.com and the Genealogy Resources categories of my blog and on my dedicated Genealogy Resources page.

​More AI Tips, Tools, and Features

Learn about more AI in Genealogy tips, tools, features, and resources under the AI in Genealogy category.