Using AI (and AI Advice!) to Share Family Stories with Cousins
Calling all Genea-Musings Fans:
It’s time for a little more genealogy fun—this time with a practical twist!
Over the past several months, I’ve been using Randy Seaver’s ABC Biography process (from Genea-Musings) along with AI tools to create narrative biographies, songs, and videos about my ancestors. I’ve been sharing those stories here on Heartland Genealogy, but that led me to an important question:
Am I actually reaching the people who would care the most—my 3rd and 4th cousins?
So, I turned to AI for help.
The Question I Asked
Here is the exact prompt I used:
I’ve used Randy Seaver’s ABC Biography process to use AI to create narrative biographies, songs and videos about my ancestors. I’ve been sharing them on my blog, but that doesn’t necessarily reach my 3rd and 4th cousins. Can you suggest other ways I can share the links to these stories and videos?
Instead of asking just one tool, I asked four:
- ChatGPT
- Claude
- Gemini
- Perplexity
Each gave thoughtful answers—but what really interested me was how similar their recommendations were.
What the AI Tools Agreed On
Even though each tool had a slightly different emphasis, they all pointed to the same core idea:
👉 A blog is a great home base—but not a great distribution system.
To reach cousins, especially 3rd and 4th cousins, I need to share my content in places where they are already spending time or where they are likely to encounter an ancestor’s name.
Across all four responses, the suggestions fell into four clear categories:
1. Discovery Platforms (Where Cousins Search)
- Family trees (Ancestry, FamilySearch, WikiTree)
- YouTube (as a search engine for ancestor names)
2. Direct Outreach (Where Cousins Respond)
- Messaging DNA matches
- Emailing relatives
3. Social Sharing (Where Cousins Interact)
- Facebook groups (surname and locality-based)
- Genealogy communities
4. Ongoing Delivery (Where Cousins Stay Engaged)
- Newsletters or email lists
- Index pages or “landing pages” for your content
Turning Four AI Answers into One Workable Process
As I reviewed all four responses, it became clear that I needed something repeatable—especially since I write posts ahead of time and schedule them for future publication.
Here’s the process I developed.
Phase 1: Create the Content (Before It Goes Live)
When I’m working on a biography, I should create a small “content package”:
- The blog post (scheduled)
- The video (uploaded—can be unlisted at first)
- One image for sharing
- A short teaser (2–3 sentences)
- A question to invite responses
At the same time, I can begin adding the story to long-term discovery platforms:
- Add a Memory on FamilySearch
- Upload a Gallery image (with link) on Ancestry
- Add a link to the profile on WikiTree
These steps don’t depend on the publication date—they simply make the content easier to find over time.
Phase 2: Share the Story (When the Post Goes Live)
This is where the biggest change happens.
Instead of just publishing the post and moving on, I now actively distribute it.
Step 1: Publish
- Publish the blog post
- Make the YouTube video public
Step 2: Reach Out to DNA Matches
This was emphasized by all four tools as the most targeted method.
I should send a short message like:
“We share [ancestor name]. I created a short story/video about them and thought you might enjoy it.”
Even a few messages can go a long way.
Step 3: Share on Facebook
I should post a short teaser with an image and a link in:
- Surname groups
- Locality groups
And I should always include a question to encourage interaction.
Step 4: Add to Ongoing Channels
- Publish blog on Substack to create a “newsletter”
- Add it to a running index page on my blog
A Simple System That Works
If I boil all of this down into a simple routine, it looks like this:
- Create blog post and video
- Add links to family tree platforms
- Message a few DNA matches
- Share in one or two Facebook groups
- Include in a newsletter or index – such as Substack post
That combination provides:
- Searchability (trees + YouTube)
- Direct contact (DNA + email)
- Conversation (Facebook)
Final Thoughts
One of the most helpful insights from this exercise was realizing:
👉 My blog is not the destination—it’s the foundation.
The real goal is to use that foundation to reach cousins in multiple ways:
- When they search for an ancestor
- When they open an email
- When they scroll through Facebook
- Or when they receive a message from a newly discovered cousin
By combining those approaches, the stories I’m creating with AI have a much better chance of reaching the people they were really meant for—family.
Have you tried sharing your family stories beyond your blog? I’d love to hear what has worked for you!