AI Citations: Fast Drafts, Not Always the Finished Product

This AI-created citation got the place of death and the source completely wrong. I provided the screen clipping from Ancestry.com and URL, then asked for a citation in Evidence Explained style. This was the result:

“Vermont, U.S., Vital Records, 1909–2008,” database with images, Ancestry (https://www.ancestry.com/search/collections/61834/records/218119 : accessed 8 May 2026), death record for Luther K. Rawson; citing Vermont Department of Health.

One of the places where AI has saved me the most time is with citations.

That may sound like a small thing, but citations can take a tremendous amount of time. Sometimes my source list on a blog post is longer than my post. Between census records, probate files, deeds, newspapers, cemetery records, family papers, digital images, and archive collections, a short post can still require a long list of careful source citations.

A page from my OneNote citation database

Before using AI, I had already created what I thought was a pretty efficient system. I kept citation examples and formats in OneNote, copied the closest match, and edited the details to fit the record I was using. Compared with building each citation from scratch, that felt like a real time saver.

And it was.

But AI has made the process even faster.

Now, instead of starting cold or hunting through my saved examples, I can give AI the information I have and ask it to help shape the citation. Often, it gets me very close very quickly. 

But there is an important “but.”

AI-generated citations still need to be checked. Carefully.

Sometimes the issue is small. I may want to change a word, adjust the format, or add a missing detail. Sometimes AI leaves a blank because I did not give it enough information, and that is fair. It cannot cite what I did not provide.

Other times, though, I have found glaring mistakes. The example at the top of the post is exactly why I check. AI identified the wrong database and placed the death in Vermont, even though the record was for a death in New Hampshire.

That has not made me stop using AI. I still love it for citations. It saves me a tremendous amount of time. But I treat every AI citation as a draft, not a finished product. A helpful draft. A fast draft. Sometimes even a very good draft. But still a draft.

If you would like to learn more about the families I research, follow my Facebook page, where I share each post along with other genealogical finds.

Diana

© 2026

ChatGPT, response to prompt requesting an Evidence Explained-style citation from a screen clipping and URL for Luther K. Rawson’s Ancestry death record, 8 May 2026; privately held by author.

“New Hampshire, U.S., Death Records, 1678–1974,” database with images, Ancestry (https://www.ancestry.com/search/collections/61834/records/218119 : accessed 8 May 2026), entry for Luther K. Rawson, died 8 January 1876, Croydon, Sullivan County, New Hampshire; citing New Hampshire Division of Archives & Records Management, Concord, New Hampshire, “New Hampshire Death Records, 1650–1969.”

My Week with AI: Citations, YouTube, eBay, a Will Transcription, and a Spreadsheet

The will of John Reed, my 6th great-grandfather. 

Reviewing my recent ChatGPT activity, I was surprised by how much my AI usage has grown. Last week, I used ChatGPT more than I have in any entire month this year—and that’s not even including my time on other platforms. While ChatGPT is my go-to for AI (I have a paid subscription), I'm slowly getting familiar with others. So far, I have experimented with Co-Pilot, Claude, Meta AI, and Gemini. I’m definitely a beginner, but I’m really enjoying the experience! Here are a few of my successes this week.

Citations

I wrote a newsletter article that needed citations outside my usual templates. Normally, I’d spend time researching the correct format, but ChatGPT generated them quickly, saving me the effort. Although the citations needed some tweaking, I can clearly see that, in the future, citations will be easier to create with AI. 

YouTube

 While writing about the Virginia Highway Markers program, I wanted details about local programs. The only source was a 90-minute YouTube video, which I knew would tell me more than I wanted to know. Instead of watching the video, I uploaded the video transcript to ChatGPT. It summarized the key points with an offer to expand on any section. A quick follow-up provided the required information. The total time for this task was approximately 15 minutes. 

Two interesting Highway Markers in my neighborhood

eBay

Since retiring, I’ve been downsizing and frequently selling on Marketplace and eBay. I wasn't sure how to describe this vintage chocolate mold I wanted to sell on eBay. I submitted a photo to ChatGPT and received a perfect description.

A Will Transcription

John Reed's will, at the top of this post, was found using FamilySearch’s full-text search. Like many other documents found with Full-text search, a not-so-easy-to-follow transcription is included. I asked ChatGPT to rewrite the transcription for clarity without altering the text, and in seconds, I had an easy-to-read version. However, I still need to cross-check it against the original for accuracy. 

A Spreadsheet

I wanted a spreadsheet to track attendance for the special interest groups in my local genealogical society. While I could have built the spreadsheet myself, it would have taken me an hour or more since Excel isn’t my strong suit. With ChatGPT’s help, I had a fully functional spreadsheet with drop-down menus in under five minutes.

This Excel spreadsheet includes drop-down menus for the Group Name, Month, Day, and Year.

AI tools are proving to be great time savers. I look forward to learning more and uncovering new uses for these tools daily.

AI Tools Named in this Post

ChatGPT (Open AI) 

Claude (Anthropic) 

CoPilot (Microsoft) 

Gemini (Google) 

Meta AI 

If you want to know about the families I research, click here to like my Facebook page, where you will see each post and other genealogical finds. 

Diana

© 2024 

"Plymouth, Massachusetts, United States records," Supreme Judicial Court, 1739, 

digital images, FamilySearch (https://

www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:33S7-9RYS-4CR?view=fullText : accessed 18 September 2024), image 1156 of 1409, Will of John Reed.

Virginia Highway Markers and Chocolate Mold, photographs, 2024; private collection of Diana Quinn, Virginia Beach, VA, 2024.