About
Goldie May is an AI-powered genealogy platform designed to make family history research faster, smarter, and better organized. At its core is a genealogy-specific AI assistant that goes beyond generic AI tools — it can analyze your ancestors' profiles pulled from any web-based tree, search across major platforms like FamilySearch, Ancestry, MyHeritage, Newspapers.com, GenealogyBank, and Storied, and evaluate results by highlighting the most promising records. It also automates tedious tasks like writing citations and transcribing handwritten historical documents. Beyond AI, Goldie May offers a rich suite of research tools. The Projects feature lets you structure your work with objectives, subjects, and research plans — ideal for client work or tracking multiple family lines. An automatic research log records every site you visit during a session, with support for abstracts, positive/negative result tagging, and spreadsheet export. The Subway Map gives a unique visual timeline showing where an ancestor lived over time, including census and newspaper hints and historical boundary changes. The Canvas tool helps untangle complex pre-1850 U.S. census situations visually. A Catalog of Catalogs lets you quickly discover relevant collections on major genealogy sites by time and place. All data is stored in the cloud for access anywhere, and the platform maintains enterprise-grade privacy — your data is never used for AI training. Goldie May offers a free tier for casual researchers and paid plans (Plus and Pro) for power users and professionals.
Key Features
- Genealogy-Specific AI Assistant: An AI fine-tuned for genealogy research that searches FamilySearch, Ancestry, MyHeritage, and newspaper archives, evaluates results, and explains which records are most promising.
- Automatic Research Log: Automatically tracks every website visited during a research session, with support for abstracts, positive/negative result tagging, comments, and spreadsheet export.
- Subway Map Timeline Tool: A unique visual tool that shows where an ancestor lived over time, placing census hints, newspaper clues, and historical county/state boundary changes in chronological context.
- Citation Writing & Document Transcription: Automatically generates citations on known genealogy websites and uses AI to transcribe handwritten historical documents.
- Projects & Canvas Organizer: Organize research into structured projects with objectives and research plans, and use the visual Canvas tool to sort out complex pre-1850 U.S. census situations.
Use Cases
- A hobbyist genealogist uses Goldie May's AI assistant to search FamilySearch and Ancestry simultaneously, evaluate record matches, and auto-generate citations for their family tree.
- A professional genealogist organizes multiple client projects using Goldie May's Projects feature, tracking research plans, logging results, and exporting research logs to spreadsheets.
- A researcher tackling pre-1850 U.S. censuses uses the Canvas tool to visually sort and connect family members who appear across multiple overlapping household records.
- A family historian uses the automatic research log and snapshot feature to capture browser tabs and notes during long research sessions without losing track of visited sources.
- A genealogy enthusiast uses the Newspaper Coverage tool to identify which historical newspapers covered the area where their ancestor lived, then opens them directly on the provider's site.
Pros
- Purpose-Built AI for Genealogy: Unlike general AI tools, Goldie May's assistant is fine-tuned for genealogy, accessing sources and understanding research workflows that generic AI cannot.
- Generous Free Tier: The free plan includes core organization tools, automatic research logging, screenshots, and limited Subway Map access with no time-limited trial.
- Enterprise-Grade Privacy: User data is never used for AI model training, making it suitable for sensitive family history research and professional client work.
- Cross-Platform Tree Compatibility: Works with FamilySearch, Ancestry, and any web-based tree via screenshot or direct connection, avoiding vendor lock-in.
Cons
- Chrome-Only Installation: Goldie May is currently only available as a Chrome extension, limiting access for users on other browsers or operating systems.
- AI Credits Cap on Plus Plan: The Plus plan provides 400 AI credits per month, which may not be sufficient for heavy or professional-level research workflows.
- Limited Offline Access: Since data is cloud-stored and the tool is browser-based, it requires an internet connection and may not be suitable for use in areas with poor connectivity.
Frequently Asked Questions
What genealogy platforms does Goldie May work with?
Goldie May integrates with FamilySearch, Ancestry, MyHeritage, Newspapers.com, GenealogyBank, and Storied. You can also screenshot any web-based tree or connect directly to FamilySearch.
Is Goldie May really free to use?
Yes, Goldie May offers a genuinely free plan with no trial period. It includes Projects & Tasks, automatic research logging, screenshots, and limited Subway Map usage (5 ancestors/month).
How does the AI assistant protect my privacy?
Goldie May uses enterprise-grade privacy standards. Your data is never used to train AI models and is only accessible by you.
Can I choose which AI model powers the assistant?
Yes, Goldie May lets you pick from several leading AI models so you can take advantage of their different strengths depending on your research task.
What is the Subway Map tool?
The Subway Map is a unique visual timeline that shows where an ancestor lived over time. It overlays census and newspaper hints and displays historical county and state boundary changes in context.
