He used AI to uncover his family’s history

What People Do With AI

Example creator: Scott Melker

Named tools: Grok Bot, ChatGPT, ChatGPT Deep Research

Original source: https://x.com/scottmelker/status/2115220656740577553

Article: https://whatpeopledowithai.com/examples/family-history/

Published: 2026-11-02T18:36:18.048163+00:00
Content updated: 2026-11-02T22:48:33.744649Z
Original source published: 2026-10-27

Public articles and issues. Use the clean Markdown or plain-text links, or copy the full text for your agent.

Yearbooks, gravestone photographs, birth and naturalization records: those are among the finds Scott Melker described after researching his family history with Grok Bot and ChatGPT (https://x.com/scottmelker/status/2115220656740577553) on October 27.

An old document can give you somewhere to begin. A town, an approximate date or a question about one ancestor can do the same. Pick the person you’re curious about and follow that thread.

Give the research somewhere to start

ChatGPT Deep Research (https://help.openai.com/en/articles/10500283-deep-research-in-chatgpt) can work through public websites and uploaded documents, then bring its findings together in a report with source links. That gives you a trail back to the records behind each connection.

Add what you already have, including alternate spellings, approximate dates and known relatives. Ask a specific question: Where did this person live before moving? What can we find about their arrival? Does this photograph connect to a school or town?

Start the search

“Research [ancestor’s name], who lived in [place] around [year]. I know [facts] and have attached [document or photo]. Help me answer [question]. Link the records you use, distinguish confirmed connections from possibilities, and suggest the most useful next record to look for.”

Make something your family will want to open

Once you have a few discoveries, turn them into a short illustrated family history: a simple tree, a timeline, photographs and three interesting stories, with links to the records. Save it as a PDF and share it by email or in the family group chat. Invite relatives to add corrections, memories and photos of their own.

“Turn this research about [family or ancestor] into a short illustrated family history for my relatives. Include a simple family tree, a timeline and three interesting stories, with links to the records behind them. Use [photos I’ve supplied]. Mark uncertain connections and leave out private details about living relatives. Format it so I can save it as a PDF.”

Send it with a question: “Does anyone remember this house?” A record gives you a date. Someone in the family may have the story that goes with it.

Starter prompt

Research [ancestor’s name], who lived in [place] around [year]. I know [facts] and have attached [document or photo]. Help me answer [question]. Link the records you use, distinguish confirmed connections from possibilities, and suggest the most useful next record to look for.

Help me try this

A conversational handoff with context, tool alternatives and approval boundaries: https://whatpeopledowithai.com/examples/family-history/handoff.txt

Original sources and getting-started links

- https://x.com/scottmelker/status/2115220656740577553
- https://help.openai.com/en/articles/10500283-deep-research-in-chatgpt