The second day of the 2026 Conference was live in Salt Lake City, Utah with thousands of persons in attendance, and thousands more watching some of the conference classes online for free. I choose to be an online viewer rather than an in-person attendee due to my physical restrictions.
Over the past week, I selected online classes for "My Schedule" and have downloaded syllabus articles and slide decks for many of the online and in-person classes. You can see the current list of RootsTech 2026 online and in-person speakers and presentation titles in https://www.familysearch.org/en/rootstech/schedule/preview.
My activities today were sandwiched around my visit to my wife in the memory care facility and grocery shopping, but I was able to watch some of the classes on my class schedule. Here are the classes that I watched, either partially or completely:
- DNA Misconceptions by Kelli Bergheimer. The talk description is:
Often our misconceptions can lead us astray. In DNA analysis, sometimes we fall into surname traps, wrong assumptions, and confirmation bias. Learn how to recognize your misconceptions and address them.
- FamilySearch Full-Text Search – Your Golden Path to Ancestral Discovery by David Ouimette. The talk description is:
In this session, we show how FamilySearch applies generative AI to read historical handwriting and produce complete transcripts of billions of pages of historical manuscripts in a variety languages and scripts. We describe how FamilySearch identifies names, dates, and places in the text distilled from these documents. We then demonstrate techniques for searching the resulting full text by keyword, name, date, and place. We show how to leverage filter and search features in tandem so that you can readily find the records that reveal your ancestors and tell their stories.
The MyHeritage overview talk by Aaron Godfrey included descriptions of Scribe AI, Country Coded Family Tree, GAIA Genealogy AI Assistant, Family Infographic, Whole Genome DNA Testing/Analysis, and DNA Traits. No real information was provided for GAIA and the Infographic although they can be imagined.
- RootsTech Innovation and Tech Forum 2026. The talk description is:
Industry innovators gather to reveal the latest developments created to simplify your family discovery experience.
The speakers and topics were:
- Brian Shirts – ConnectMyVariant – cancer genetics, encouraging family to research genetic issues.
- Richard K. Miller – Goldie May – Genealogy research assistant.
- Laryn Brown – Storied – NewspaperArchive revision.
- John Crockett – Ancestry.com – new features -- AI Stories,, Photo insights, Guided Discoveries, Document Transcription, Full-Text Search.
- Dave Vance – Family Tree DNA – new Family Finder test (400x current); new BigY Haplogroups.
- Marisa J. W. Humphrey – LifeWeaver.ai – Tell your family story
- Alon Eherenfeld – MyHeritage.com – Scribe AI.
- Getting to Know Your Ancestors & Telling Their Stories: Tips for Connection & Sharing by Natalie Hill, Jana K Greenhalgh, Katie Stull. The talk description is:
This session invites you to connect with your ancestors on a personal level, exploring the context of their lives and digging deeper than a basic genealogical collection of vital events. The presenters (a BYU genealogy professor and BYU genealogy students) will share tactics and fun examples.
- AI & Family History: Foundations & First Steps: Mastering AI Basics for Genealogy by Steve Little. The talk description is:
Wondering where to begin with AI in genealogy? Foundations & First Steps provides a clear, actionable introduction to using large-language models effectively. Join Steve Little, founder of AI Genealogy Insights, to learn how AI can streamline your workflow through practical templates for summarizing research, extracting key details, transforming how writing looks and sounds, and generating polished family narratives. You’ll see step-by-step demonstrations and leave with essential resources—ready-to-use prompts, transcription scripts, a model-comparison toolkit, and an ethics checklist—to integrate AI into your genealogical work responsibly and confidently. Come curious; leave empowered!
- Using Autosomal DNA Analysis to Identify an Ancestor's Likely Parents by Alice Childs. The talk description is:
Cornelia Ingersoll was born about 1788 in Carmel, Dutchess (later Westchester) County, New York. Cornelia’s life after her marriage to Henry Stogdill was well documented. However, extensive documentary research in the Carmel area failed to reveal her parents’ names. Autosomal DNA analysis left little doubt that Cornelia was the granddaughter of Josiah Ingersoll, Sr. However, Josiah fathered multiple children with two different wives. This session will illustrate how multiple test takers, DNA networks, half relationships, and maternal surnames were combined with documentary evidence to pinpoint the most likely parents for Cornelia.
- From Discovery to Proof: Crafting a Genealogical Proof Argument by Stephanie O'Connell. The talk description is:
Genealogists must transform complex research into clear and convincing conclusions. This session will focus on writing proof arguments that meet the Genealogical Proof Standard (GPS), highlighting how to select and organize the strongest evidence. Additionally, we will also review ways to address conflicting and indirect evidence using correlation tools such as timelines and tables. The importance of incorporating social and historical context will also be discussed. Whether you are writing for yourself or your clients, this session will provide you with the tools to write with clarity, confidence, and credibility.
Lastly, I checked the Relatives at RootsTech page and saw that I have 48,545 relatives listed at RootsTech 2026 (down from over 74,000 in 2025).
My closest Relative at RootsTech is a first cousin 1x removed whom I know in my Seaver line, and the next closest cousin is George, a 3rd cousin 1x removed in my Kemp line. I am randyseaver1 if you want to see how I am related to you.
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Disclosure: I am a RootsTech 2026 "Influencer" but will receive no remuneration for my support or posting of RootsTech information. I will be an online participant this year because of my health issues.
Copyright (c) 2026, Randall J. Seaver
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