Ancestry’s New AI Image Transcript Feature: Transcribe Old Handwriting Instantly

3/23/2025

Ancestry’s New Image Transcript Tool: AI-Powered Handwriting Transcription

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Screenshot of Ancestry’s New AI-powered Image Transcript feature displaying a transcribed handwritten document

Ancestry’s New AI Image Transcript Feature in Action

Ancestry has rolled out an exciting new feature currently in BETA: the Image Transcript tool! This AI-driven tool can transcribe handwritten journals, diaries, and letters that are uploaded to your family tree, making it easier than ever to preserve and read ancestral documents. While still in development, this tool shows great promise in assisting genealogists with historical handwriting recognition.

How to Use the Image Transcript Tool

Getting started with this feature is simple. Here’s how you can try it out:

Upload a handwritten document – Choose a journal page, diary entry, or letter and upload it to your ancestor’s Gallery on their profile page. You can also go to the Memories tab in the top navigation ribbon and select Gallery to upload from there.
Open the media file – Once uploaded, navigate to the Gallery of your ancestor’s profile or access it via the Memories section.
Locate the Transcribe option – In the top left corner of the image viewer, just below the Zoom In and Zoom Out buttons, you’ll see a Transcribe button.
Click and wait – Select Transcribe, and after a few moments, Ancestry’s AI will generate a transcription of the text, even handwritten text!

🚨 Note: You may occasionally see an error message stating, “Unfortunately, we can't create a transcription. But this feature is constantly being upgraded to handle more document types. Please try again soon.” If this happens, you can try again later, or it may mean the document is currently unsupported.

Putting It to the Test

I’ve taken some time to test out this feature with different types of documents, and the results have been quite promising!

🔍 Mid-1800s Bible Page During RootsTech, when Ancestry first announced this tool, I uploaded an old Bible page from my 3rd great-grandfather’s Bible, filled with mid-19th-century handwriting. To my surprise, the tool performed quite well, successfully transcribing a significant portion of the text! While not perfect, it still captured much of the content, and as this tool improves, I expect even better accuracy over time.

Ancestry AI Image Transcript- Example 1-1

Ancestry AI Image Transcript- Example 1-2

📝 1960s Letter Just a couple of weeks later, I tested a handwritten letter from the 1960s, provided by a client. The results were even more impressive! The tool transcribed nearly everything correctly, with only two minor errors. This could be due to either the handwriting being clearer or the AI having already improved in just a short period.

Ancestry AI Image Transcript- Example 2-1

Ancestry AI Image Transcript- Example 2-2

Final Thoughts

While still in BETA, Ancestry’s Image Transcript tool is showing great potential. As it continues to develop, it could become an essential resource for genealogists looking to extract text from historical handwritten documents with ease. Whether you’re working with centuries-old diaries or more recent family letters, this tool may soon save you time and effort in reading and preserving family history.

If you haven’t tried it yet, give it a go and see how well it works for your documents! Have you tested the Image Transcript tool? Share your experiences in the comments!

📌Note:

Since the Image Transcript feature is still in BETA, not everyone may have access yet. While Ancestry announced this feature during their RootsTech Innovation and Tech Forum 2025 session, they did not mention it was in BETA at the time. However, because it is still being tested and refined, availability may vary by account, subscription level, and possibly even location (U.S. always seems to be first). If you don’t see the feature yet, keep checking back!

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.

14 Comments

Marie Cooke Beckman link

3/23/2025 09:03:06 am

The transcription tool icon shows up for me but says it's not available under my current subscription(US Discovery with ProTools)

Rebecca B Hill

3/24/2025 05:38:08 am

Same results with same subscription

Diane Henriks link

3/24/2025 06:23:25 am

It looks like access to the feature may not be tied to a specific subscription level but rather the BETA rollout process. Ancestry often releases new tools in phases, and sometimes users outside the U.S. receive them later. Hopefully, wider access will be available soon! :)

3/24/2025 06:22:18 am

Thanks for sharing your experience! The Image Transcript feature is not part of ProTools, but since it’s still in BETA, access may be limited. It’s possible that Ancestry is rolling it out gradually to different users, so hopefully, it will become available to more people soon! :)

3/24/2025 06:24:24 am

Thanks Diane

Patricia B Richley

3/24/2025 06:26:48 am

Thanks for experimenting. I’d be interested in seeing a follow up post in perhaps six months.

3/24/2025 06:29:59 am

Possibly, if I have the time and I'm still playing with it then. ;) You can also try it out for yourself. :)

Teresa link

3/28/2025 07:26:55 am

Definitely no sign of it on the Ancestry UK platform or the Canada one... I certainly do hope it's not put in ProTools as well, though in the end, I prefer to transcribe myself.

4/3/2025 08:37:41 am

It does seem like the feature hasn’t rolled out to all regions yet, which isn’t too surprising since Ancestry often releases new tools in phases, not to mention that it is in BETA. Hopefully, it reaches the UK and Canada soon! And I agree—while AI transcription is a great time-saver, there’s definitely value in manually transcribing to ensure accuracy. :)

Lisa S. Gorrell

3/28/2025 04:11:56 pm

I haven't tried yet, but I hope the transcriptions of these family-uploaded documents will then be part of the hints feature!

4/3/2025 08:39:05 am

That would be a great addition! Right now, it looks like the transcriptions just stay attached to the uploaded document, but integrating them into hints would definitely make them even more useful. Fingers crossed that’s something Ancestry considers! :)

Lynnette Bates

3/29/2025 10:08:23 pm

I do not have any transcribe button. I was so excited to try it out!

4/3/2025 08:40:12 am

I know how frustrating that must be! Since the feature is still in BETA, it looks like access isn’t available to everyone just yet. Hopefully, it rolls out more widely soon—keep checking back! :)