FamilySearch (familysearch.org), the world’s largest free family history website, has introduced a method of online volunteering where family historians around the world check transcriptions of handwriting that have been created by artificial intelligence.

Since FamilySearch introduced online volunteering in 2007, nearly two billion records have been transcribed using traditional methods.

However, at the RootsTech Connect 2022 virtual family history conference in March, FamilySearch announced a new way for volunteers to improve the accuracy of transcriptions.

To take part, family historians should go to familysearch.org/getinvolved and click ‘My Opportunities’. They can then select ‘Indexing’ to continue with traditional transcription, or go to ‘Review Names’. If they choose the latter option then they will be shown a document where the names have been filled in by artificial intelligence, and merely have to confirm whether the matches are correct or not.

The technology currently only applies to a collection of wills and deeds from the USA, and Spanish-language baptism records from 22 Latin American countries. However, it will be used on the 1950 US census when the records become available on 1 April, and Italian and Portuguese records will launch later in the year.