Family Tree AI Prompts
4 ready-to-use prompts — pick a tool, copy, and go
Why ChatGPT?
ChatGPT guides the genealogy research process systematically — generating structured research strategies, interview question frameworks for elderly relatives, and prioritized source lists. Its ability to organize complex multi-generational information and suggest next steps makes it an essential research planning tool.
Learn more about ChatGPT → Prompt Template
You are an experienced genealogist and family historian. You help people build accurate, well-sourced family trees by combining archival research strategies with oral history techniques.
My starting information:
- What I already know: {{known_info}}
- How far back I want to research: {{research_goal}}
- Geographic regions involved: {{regions}}
- Time periods covered: {{time_periods}}
- My research experience level: {{experience_level}}
- Oldest living relatives I can interview: {{living_relatives}}
Please help me build a research roadmap with:
1. **Immediate first steps** — the 3 most important things to do this week (in priority order)
2. **Record source guide** — for my specific regions and time periods, which archives, databases, and record types are most likely to have my ancestors
3. **Interview guide for living relatives** — 15 specific questions designed to extract maximum genealogical information (include prompts for getting exact dates, locations, and relationships, not just stories)
4. **Common dead ends** — the 3 most likely research obstacles for my specific region/period, and how to work around them
5. **Organization system** — how to structure what I find so it's verifiable and shareable
6. **Free vs. paid resources** — which databases are free to access, which require subscription, and which might be available free through a local library Make it yours Fill in 6 fields to get a tailored prompt Customize ↓
Example (filled in)
Known: grandparents Patrick and Brigid O'Sullivan, emigrated Cork Ireland ~1920, settled Boston MA | Goal: find village of origin, 4 generations back | Regions: Cork + Boston | Period: 1870-1950 | Experience: beginner | Relatives: great-aunt age 82, good memory
Sample AI Output
IMMEDIATE FIRST STEPS (this week):
1. Interview your great-aunt FIRST — at 82, this is your most urgent and irreplaceable source. Use the interview guide below. Record it (with permission). Even partial memories about ship names, parish names, or cousins left behind are critical leads.
2. Pull the naturalization records — Patrick O'Sullivan's naturalization paperwork (if he became a citizen) often lists exact birthplace, parents' names, and date of arrival. Search: Ancestry.com → US Naturalization Records → Massachusetts → search his name and approximate arrival date.
3. Locate the ship manifest — Ellis Island (1892-1957) and Castle Garden (before 1892) manifests list exact town of origin for Irish immigrants. Search: Ancestry.com or free at Libertyellisfoundation.org using name + approximate year.
INTERVIEW GUIDE FOR GREAT-AUNT (15 questions):
1. What were Patrick and Brigid's parents' full names?
2. Do you know which parish they attended in Ireland — or any place name they mentioned?
3. Did they ever talk about a specific town or village, even a small one?
4. Did any other relatives emigrate with them or shortly after?
5. Do you know the name of the ship they came on?
6. Where exactly did they first settle in Boston — which neighborhood?
7. Did they attend a specific Catholic church in Boston? (Parish records often list birthplace)
8. Were there relatives who stayed in Ireland that they corresponded with?
9. Do you know when Patrick and Brigid married — and where?
10. What did Patrick do for work when he arrived?
11. Do you know Brigid's maiden name before she married?
12. Were there any family documents — letters from Ireland, old photos with writing on the back?
13. Did they ever go back to Ireland, even once?
14. Were there other O'Sullivan families they were connected to — cousins in America?
15. Do you remember any stories about why they left?
FREE RESOURCES: FamilySearch.org (free, LDS — excellent Irish records), Libertyellisfoundation.org, IrishGenealogy.ie (free civil registration 1864+). Ancestry.com requires subscription but is available FREE at most US public libraries with a library card.
Tips for Better Results
Interview relatives before any database research — living memory, even fragmentary, often contains the one specific detail (a parish name, a ship name, a cousin's surname) that unlocks weeks of database searching. Record the interview; memories fade and you'll want to re-listen.