Use AI as Your Research Assistant

Imagine – you can simply "ask" your research notes instead of spending hours digging through long documents! In today's post, I'll introduce you to NotebookLM – a tool that can become a genuinely good helper in family history research.

Why is NotebookLM special?

NotebookLM is a Google-developed tool with one very significant difference from other AI – it works ONLY with the information you give it. As a result, there is little (or almost no) free fantasizing! All sorts of fabrications, or so-called "hallucinations," are considerably rarer.

Second, NotebookLM always indicates the source. For every answer, you can see which of your documents the information came from. For a serious genealogist, this is important, because without references, research isn't proper research.

Third, there's good news about privacy – the data you input isn't used for model training. Of course, still exercise caution: don't enter sensitive information about living people!

How to get started?

1. Create a notebook 

   Go to notebooklm.google.com and click "Create notebook". You can create a separate notebook for each surname you're researching.

   
   

2. Add your documents

   Some formats work well, but others cannot be added to the notebook.

   • Word notes – will work very well

   • PDF files – if they're electronic (Important: the text in PDF files must be recognizable and highlightable. If there are only images, for example, scanned book pages, then AI won't be able to 'read' and analyze them as well.)

   • First save Excel files as CSV or convert them into a table in Word/PDF format

   • First transcribe church book records separately – otherwise NotebookLM may make mistakes

   • I'd recommend first transcribing (you can use Gemini for this) and checking copies of any other documents separately, and only then adding them.

     
     

3. Also add website links 

   If you found a good source online about parish history or some historical period – simply copy the link.

Example of a notebook with several sources added.

What can you "ask" your documents?

Once you've entered materials, you can start "conversing." For example, ask:

• "Create a timeline of events in my family"

• "Write a biography about grandfather Jānis"

• "Check whether there are contradictions between different documents"

• "Describe the family's social status at the end of the 19th century"

• "Where are the gaps in my family story? What else should be researched?"

(Note about the last question – don't expect professional advice about which archives or collections to search. You'd need to create a different notebook with methodology materials for that.)

Important to remember:

A quality answer will only come if the material provided is sufficiently comprehensive and well-prepared. AI cannot fill in gaps that simply aren't in your documents or guess information you haven't provided. If the data is incomplete, the AI's assistance will also be superficial. AI doesn't replace the researcher. For this tool to be valuable, the data must first be found and understood. AI won't go to the archive and search for records in church books in your place. At least not right now 😉 And mistakes can happen – ALWAYS read with a critical eye!

Bonus: If you've already created a longer family story, you can convert it into an infographic, podcast style conversation or even a short video presentation – look for the button in the Studio section on the right side. You can change the thematic emphasis and visual style of the infographic. The infographic will serve as a visual summary of the given text.

Infographic created based on a family history research.

NotebookLM is currently one of the most reliable and useful AI tools for genealogists. Use it!