Frequently asked questions
What is AI?
Artificial intelligence, or AI, is an umbrella term representing a range of techniques that allow machines to simulate human intelligence.
Machine learning is a subset of AI that enables machines to learn from data without being explicitly programmed. Machine learning models, which capture the patterns and relationships within data, are trained on large datasets to recognize patterns and optimize outcomes.
Why does Ancestry® use AI for Member Services?
The use of AI tools allows Ancestry Member Services to efficiently service your needs in a personalized and instant manner. Ancestry Member Services uses AI for various purposes, including to better understand its interactions with you and to provide an instant chat experience to assist you with common queries.
What personal data of yours does Ancestry® process when it uses AI, and why?
If you contact Ancestry, whether by chat, email, or phone, the content of your communications will be documented by AI to help better understand you and your interactions with our Member Services team. Ancestry Member Services uses these communications in the context of its AI tools to better understand and service you.
Does Ancestry® Member Services use third-party AI tools?
Yes, Ancestry Member Services uses third-party tools to power its AI and provides information to such third parties in order to obtain their services. Ancestry vets any such tools and providers to ensure that they are appropriate and that your rights to privacy are respected at all times.
Is my personal data used to train third-party AI models?
No. Ancestry Member Services will not use your personal data collected in connection with the above to train our third-party vendors’ models. Some data may be used to train models for Ancestry use only, though Ancestry Member Services does not use personal data (including sensitive data such as credit card information) for these purposes.
Ancestry employs extensive de-identification techniques to limit the inclusion of personal data or sensitive data in such training. However, you should not share sensitive data or unnecessary personal data while contacting Ancestry.
For more information on how we use your personal data, please see our Privacy Statement.
What rights do I have relating to my personal data processed in connection with the provision of these AI services?
You have the rights to access / know, rectification / correction, erasure, restriction and data portability with respect to your personal data, as well as a right to object to the processing of your personal data. These rights are set out in more detail in our Privacy Statement.
AI is an exciting new tool that is evolving quickly. Ancestry will update these frequently asked questions as further developments occur with AI.