In a recent article published on the FamilySearch Blog site, an announcement was made that Full-Text Search is now part of its standard search tools. Since its initial release in FamilySearch Labs during RootsTech 2024, the feature has undergone numerous enhancements to improve its power and usability. These improvements are already helping users make exciting discoveries and breakthroughs in their family history research.

What Is Full-Text Search?

FamilySearch hosts billions of digitized historical records, but only a fraction are indexed and searchable. Advancements in artificial intelligence and handwriting recognition are making records searchable much faster than ever before.

Full-Text Search uses AI-generated transcripts to search unindexed record collections in seconds. By entering keywords, names, places, and dates, users can now search almost 2 billion genealogically significant records, most of which were previously accessible only as images.

Unlike traditional indexed searches, Full-Text Search scans the entire transcript of a record, allowing users to find matches in any part of the document. This capability is helping thousands of users uncover relatives and evidence about them in records they may never have considered before.

Where Can I Find Full-Text Search?

Full-Text Search is now available on FamilySearch.org in the main Search menu under Full Text. Users can also access the tool through the all-collections search on the signed-in FamilySearch home page and in the FamilySearch Catalog.

Several new features have been added since RootsTech 2024:

• AI-generated summaries of records, including names and relationships.
• Search fields for year, place, and image group number (DGS).
• Almost 2 billion records from various countries and languages.
• Ability to search by specific collections, which are grouped using digitization metadata.
• Automatic translation of record summaries into your preferred language.

Learn More and Start Discovering Today

You can view an informative RootsTech 2024 video about Full-Text Search by Robert Raymond and another from RootsTech 2025. An even more recent video discusses features and gives tips on how best to utilize Full-Text Search as you seek information about your ancestors.

Whether you’re just beginning your family history journey or you’re a seasoned researcher, Full-Text Search opens new doors to discovery. Try it today and see what stories you can uncover! Try Full-Text Search Today

– Published by FamilySearch on August 30, 2025