AI tools can help transcribe, search, translate, and organize historical material. They can also invent citations, misread handwriting, and present a plausible guess as a fact. Use them as aids to locating evidence, not as substitutes for the record.
A safe workflow
Begin with a scan and its catalog entry. Ask a tool to suggest search terms or draft a transcription, then compare every important name, date, and number against the image. Keep the original, the machine output, and your corrected transcription as separate files. The National Archives Catalog guidance explains how records are described and why a catalog entry may not include the full item.
For interpretation, write a specific question and list the documents that bear on it. The Library of Congress primary-source guide emphasizes creator, point of view, and context. An AI summary cannot supply a missing witness or prove two documents are independent.
Report the tool's role
State when machine transcription or translation assisted your work. Cite the original record, not the generated answer. If a reading is uncertain, mark it and show the competing possibilities. Protect private information and sensitive site locations when using third-party services.
The National Archives' AI compliance plan describes the agency's interest in responsible AI for access to records; it does not make any particular output authoritative.
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