In 2025, FamilySearch is planning to provide more free genealogy records and more fun family experiences! Join us this year as we work on making improvements to FamilySearch records, the FamilySearch website, FamilySearch apps, and more.
More Genealogy Records
We have worked with archivists from more than 160 countries to help make genealogical records more accessible online. In 2025, FamilySearch will make significant strides in expanding record collections for the countries of France, Germany, Honduras, Italy, Palau, and the Philippines!
This year, we will continue to publish millions of oral genealogies, which we've gathered by conducting in-person interviews with tribal leaders from 25 African countries. This effort will soon expand to other oral genealogy cultures on other continents!
Using FamilySearch's Family Tree and search technology, we have built searchable family tree databases from the gathered oral genealogies. These genealogies are now searchable online for the first time ever! Users will be able to search by tribe, village, or surname. Instant access to audio recordings and lineages that were captured during the interviews will also be available.
FamilySearch Artificial Intelligence
FamilySearch has been busy building its artificial intelligence (AI) technology to read old handwriting in more languages and improve its ability to suggest lineage-linked data from records. All these opportunities will create greater search capabilities and more family discoveries for more FamilySearch patrons worldwide.
Full-Text Search
At RootsTech 2024, we provided a sneak peek at how its AI is unlocking incredible discoveries hidden in unindexed, handwritten historical records that have never been searchable before now.
Leveraging its state-of-the-art AI-powered handwriting recognition technology, FamilySearch can convert an image of historical text into a machine-readable text format. This technology will give you the ability to search the full text of a record before it has been indexed by online volunteers.
FamilySearch Full-Text Search will introduce more exciting advancements to the record search experience in 2025, adding full-text search capability to many more record collections.
FamilySearch Get Involved and Computer-Assisted Indexing
FamilySearch AI will expand computer-assisted indexing algorithms to index more historical genealogical records than ever before—and more quickly! FamilySearch’s Get Involved web and mobile app will make it easier and even more fun for volunteers to refine the work of the handwriting recognition AI, yielding unprecedented volumes of searchable records and new ancestor discoveries.
More Digital Books
FamilySearch will continue to work with societies and libraries to digitize historical genealogical books accessible for free online in its Digital Library. These digitized publications are full-text searchable and include genealogy books, family histories, local histories, maps, yearbooks, and more. It currently has over 600,000 digitized, searchable books and serials!
Exciting New Tree Features
The FamilySearch Family Tree will become even more collaborative in 2025 with the fully-launched, time-saving Family Groups feature! You'll be able to create private groups of living family members who have a FamilySearch account. Within these groups, collective family history information—photos, stories, sources, memories, and more—can efficiently be shared.
Group participants won’t have to reenter their living information to join the collaborative efforts. Your life’s work and family legacy will then be preserved for future generations!
Together by FamilySearch
FamilySearch’s fun new mobile and web app, Together, is the perfect way to capture the most important moments in life and build stronger family connections! With the app, you'll be able to create and invite select family groups. You can help each other capture impactful life stories, memorable family events, traditions, favorite foods, hobbies, interests, friends, holidays, vacations, and so on!
You can even create your life story as you experience it or later when you find yourself reminiscing. Built-in prompts help you record your story as you progress through different stages of life. With content suitable for all ages, Together by FamilySearch will help families make, share, and remember unforgettable memories together.
RootsTech 2025—A World Family Celebration
RootsTech is FamilySearch’s popular global online family history event enhanced by an in-person experience in Salt Lake City, Utah, on 6–8 March 2025! Millions of participants will enjoy attending hundreds of classes, visiting localized experiences, and interacting with presenters and exhibitors. Virtual and in-person attendees will even be able to talk with each other through an e-chat feature online and in the mobile app.
In 2025, updates to the RootsTech website’s search algorithms will take you on a suggested journey of content based on your language and search queries. RootsTech will also be a wonderful way to meet new relatives worldwide, make new family discoveries, learn helpful tips for expanding your family tree, explore innovative new products and services, and be inspired by wonderful keynotes and speakers!
The online event is completely free, and the in-person experience in Salt Lake City is only $129 for the 3-day event at the Salt Palace Convention Center or $79 for a 1-day pass. Later this month, RootsTech participants can begin creating their personal session schedule at RootsTech.org.
FamilySearch Labs
If you love keeping up with the pulse of what’s new and upcoming at FamilySearch, you'll want to visit FamilySearch Labs regularly. Some of the new experiences and features coming in 2025 are already available for user testing! You can inquire about being an early tester of these experiences to help us maximize effectiveness.
Join FamilySearch in 2025
We want to extend a huge thank you to all our users. The year has only just begun, but we're so grateful that you are part of the FamilySearch global community! We hope that you'll continue to visit and make more fun family discoveries.
At FamilySearch, we care about connecting you with your family, and we provide fun discovery experiences and family history services for free. Why? Because we cherish families and believe that connecting generations can improve our lives now and forever. We are a nonprofit organization sponsored by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. To learn more about our beliefs, click here.
