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Bespoke AI Intelligence for Private Decision-Makers
SMA Crown Confidential:
Online Genealogy Data Platforms
A list of online genealogy platforms that serve researchers at the level of records retrieval, DNA matching, and data aggregation. The interpretation of results in relation to documented family history, the management of discretion, and the conversion of raw findings into a coherent and lasting account require a different kind of support.
Ancestry
The world's largest genealogy and consumer DNA platform.
Ancestry provides: Over 40 billion digitised historical records — census data, parish registers, immigration records, military files — combined with the largest consumer DNA database in existence. AncestryDNA provides ethnicity estimates and DNA matching. ThruLines predicts how DNA matches connect through shared ancestors. The starting point for most documentary genealogy research.
Ancestry is best suited for: Both independent researchers beginning from scratch and Old Money families with lines not yet in the documentary record. However, the platform's culture of open sharing and public tree collaboration requires careful management for families with privacy considerations.
What The Bespoke AI Genealogy Confidante adds: Ancestry produces matches and records. The Bespoke AI Genealogy Confidante interprets the results in relation to a family's known documented line, identifies what is confirmed versus inferred, manages the research pathway discreetly, and determines what to act on and what to set aside. For Old Money families, an AI Genealogy Confidante navigates the open-sharing ecosystem without exposure.
MyHeritage
Genealogy records, DNA testing, and AI-enhanced photo restoration.
MyHeritage provides: A substantial records database with particular strength in European archives, combined with DNA testing and a suite of AI tools: photo enhancement and colourisation, Deep Nostalgia (photo animation), and the emerging capacity to create short films from archival photographs. The platform most actively investing in AI-driven genealogical tools at present.
MyHeritage is best suited for: Both Old Money and independent researchers with European lines. The AI visual tools are particularly resonant for Gen X and Millennial family members encountering ancestral photographs for the first time. DNA testing results can be cross-referenced against other platforms via GEDmatch.
What The Bespoke AI Genealogy Confidante adds: MyHeritage's AI tools produce a visual experience. An AI Genealogy Confidante contextualises it — connecting the animated photograph to the documented lineage, identifying who the person was, what they represented in the family, and how their story fits the broader genealogical account being assembled.
FamilyTreeDNA (FTDNA)
The specialist DNA platform for deep genetic genealogy.
FTDNA provides: The most comprehensive DNA testing platform for serious genealogical research. Offers Y-DNA testing (paternal line), full mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) sequencing (maternal line), and autosomal DNA (Family Finder). Provides haplogroup analysis at a depth unavailable elsewhere for consumer testing. Hosts surname projects and haplogroup research groups that connect researchers working on the same lines.
FTDNA is best suited for: Both Old Money families undertaking serious DNA research and independent researchers with specific questions about deep ancestral origin. Particularly valuable for those tracing maternal or paternal lines across multiple generations rather than building broad ethnicity estimates.
What The Bespoke AI Genealogy Confidante adds: FTDNA produces haplogroup assignments, clade placements, and match lists. An AI Genealogy Confidante interprets the genetic finding in relation to the documented record — identifying which historical lineages the DNA is consistent with, which matches are genealogically meaningful, and what the deep ancestry data adds to an account that has already been constructed through archives.
MyTrueAncestry (MTA)
Ancient ancestry comparison against archaeological DNA.
MTA provides: Upload raw DNA data and compare your genome against ancient archaeological samples — Roman-era, Bronze Age, Iron Age, Neolithic, and beyond. A unique tool for those whose genealogical research has reached the limits of written records and who wish to understand the deeper population layer their documented lineage connects to. Includes comparisons against named historical and archaeological populations.
MTA is best suited for: Those with established documented lineages who wish to extend the account into deep time — particularly relevant for families with lines running into medieval or ancient populations, or for researchers whose haplogroup analysis suggests connections to historically documented peoples.
What The Bespoke AI Genealogy Confidante adds: MTA generates population comparisons and ancient affinities. An AI Genealogy Confidante contextualises the findings culturally and historically — explaining what the ancient population represents, how the genetic connection fits the documented lineage, and how the deep ancestry layer enriches rather than replaces the historical account already in place.
GEDmatch
Cross-platform DNA aggregation and advanced analysis.
GEDmatch provides: GEDmatch is not a DNA testing platform — it is an aggregation and analysis tool. Researchers upload raw DNA data from any testing platform (Ancestry, MyHeritage, FTDNA, 23andMe, Living DNA) to find matches across all of them simultaneously, circumventing the walled gardens of the individual companies. It also provides advanced analytical tools: chromosome browser, DNA triangulation, admixture analysis, and more. Currently owned by Verogen.
GEDmatch is best suited for: Researchers who have already tested on one or more platforms and wish to extend their matching network. Most actively used by the open-research genealogical community. Old Money researchers should assess privacy implications carefully before uploading, as GEDmatch's ownership by a forensic genetics company has raised questions within the research community.
What The Bespoke AI Genealogy Confidante adds: GEDmatch is a technical tool requiring informed use. An AI Genealogy Confidante can identify which GEDmatch features are relevant to a specific research question, interpret the results of triangulation and admixture analysis, and advise on privacy considerations before a researcher uploads their data.
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Geni
The world's largest collaborative family tree.
Geni provides: A single continuously growing World Family Tree containing over 280 million connected profiles, built through the collaborative contributions of researchers worldwide. Unlike records-based platforms, Geni holds no documentary archive of its own — its value lies entirely in the connected tree itself, maintained by a global community of genealogists and a network of expert curators. Owned by MyHeritage since 2012, Geni integrates with MyHeritage's SmartMatches and record hints for subscribers, allowing tree connections to be supported by documentary evidence. Academic researchers have used Geni's dataset for published population genetics studies, giving it a credibility beyond the amateur genealogy market.
Geni is best suited for: Researchers who have already established a documented line and wish to discover whether their ancestors are already present in the World Family Tree — connecting their private research to a broader collaborative record. Particularly valuable for European lines and for those with ancestry in communities where collaborative curation has been especially active. Less suited to those beginning from scratch without documentary foundations, as the open collaborative model requires the ability to evaluate what is contributed by others.
What The Bespoke AI Genealogy Confidante adds: Geni's collaborative architecture is its strength and its risk simultaneously. Any researcher can amend a profile, including those of your direct ancestors. For Old Money families and privacy-conscious researchers, the open model requires active management — monitoring changes to family profiles, evaluating the accuracy of contributions from other researchers, and determining when to merge and when to maintain a separate private tree. A Bespoke AI Genealogy Confidante helps to navigate this architecture — identifying which Geni connections are genealogically sound, which require verification against documentary evidence, and how to engage with the World Family Tree without ceding control of the family record.