I am in love with the new “Deep Research” option in Google Gemini. I am not sure if it’s available to all users. I do have a subscription to Google One, which I think gives me more access, but it’s amazing for genealogy research.
From Gemini’s website:
Get up to speed on just about anything with Deep Research, an agentic feature in Gemini that can automatically browse up to hundreds of websites on your behalf, think through its findings, and create insightful multi-page, reports that you can turn into engaging podcast-style conversations.
So, it is basically a research assistant that returns a nicely formatted document with answers to your question and background info. Here is a snippet from one it did when I asked about my Irish ancestors in 1792.
Research Options for Family History in Killeeshil Parish, County Tyrone (Pre-1792)
I. Introduction
The pursuit of family history often encounters obstacles, particularly when tracing lineages to earlier periods where record-keeping was less standardized and comprehensive. This report addresses the specific challenge of researching family members who emigrated from Killeeshil Parish, County Tyrone, Ireland, to Canada in 1792, a period for which readily available genealogical records for Northern Ireland can be scarce. The primary aim of this analysis is to provide a detailed overview of alternative research options and strategies that may assist in uncovering information about this family prior to their departure.
II. The Genealogical Landscape of Late 18th Century Ireland (and County Tyrone)
Researching ancestry in Ireland during the late 18th century presents unique difficulties due to the limited survival of fundamental record types that genealogists often rely upon. Comprehensive government census records for Ireland, which provide a detailed snapshot of households, largely begin in 1901 . While governmental census taking commenced earlier in 1821, the records prior to the turn of the 20th century exist only in fragmented form . This absence of substantial census data for the 1792 timeframe means that researchers must seek alternative sources to identify individuals and families.
It goes on for many pages after that, going into details and it includes footnotes with every website it used.
The kicker, I think, at least for me, is the option of turning the research document into an “Audio Overview.” This turns it into an amazingly real sounding podcast from the information with two hosts. If you’re like me and like to listen to podcasts, or you learn better when it sounds like entertainment, this is a wonderful option. Here is the audio overview of my Irish research.
So, if you haven’t tried it, give it a shot. I thought it said it was free on their site.
