Is Transkribus the Best AI for Handwritten Genealogy Documents?

Comparing Transkribus to ChatGPT

Dec 22, 2025

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In The Study of Lousy Handwriting, I asked ChatGPT to translate a handwritten note. It didn’t do well, but I often find AI will trigger my brain to see the right words. Transkribus was designed to convert historical documents from handwriting to text.

The free version of Transkribus gives you 50 credits per month and access to AI text recognition, custom AI model training, and a document editor. So I took the handwritten note I’d given ChatGPT in the earlier tip and gave it to Transkribus.

Transkribus could not transcribe the sample from the Lousy Handwriting tip.

ChatGPT did a better job. This one doesn’t even come close.

Then I threw Transkribus a softball.

Transkribus didn't do a very good job with the handwriting in the standard document but did fine with the typewritten sections.

Genuaio should be Gennaio
autmeri should be antimeridiane which it got partially right, but inserted the nella casa Comunale beforehand. Correct transcription: a ore antimeridiane undici e minuti ____ nella casa Comunale.

Sinvaco should be Sindaco
Englio should be luglio
Provincia & Caserte should be Provincea di Caserta
compars should be comparso
Baffaele should be Raffaele
treutotto should be trentotto
pizzicaguolo should be pizzicagnolo

And I’m going to stop here.

How did ChatGPT do?

ChatGPT gave me two side-by-side transcriptions of the Italian record. It didn't do too bad.

ChatGPT gave me two transcriptions side-by-side. Response one got debitamente right, but wrong in response two. Response one has Acerra in the Provincia di Teramo, which is wrong; response two has Provincia di Caserta, which is correct. Both transcriptions get his name wrong (Raffaele Paolella) and his profession wrong (muratore when the document says pizzicagnolo).

And I’m going to stop here. Sorry, Transkribus, for my Italian documents, I think ChatGPT is the winner.

So, how about another softball?

Transkribus did better with an English document.

Transkribus dropped of after Spencer. an is correct; the d is missing in the original. Correcticut should be Connecticut. the should be this. Christmy should be Christ my and is on the wrong line. Son should be soul. oug should be to God through (add Jesus Christ my). overtasting should be everlasting life,. P C should be I Commit to the earth to be decently. par notre should be my Executors hereafter named.

And I’ll stop here. You’ll note that spaces between words are missing in several places. This is because the person writing did not pick up the pen, and the ink continues into the next word.

ChatGPT’s turn.

The ChatGPT transcription got the individual's last name wrong and made corrections to the document instead of providing an exact transcription as request.

ChatGPT added the ‘ in Jan.Y and .D. before 1788, so while the meaning is correct, the transcription is not exact. Skinner should be Spencer. Again, ChatGPT made a correction to the original, and appears as an in the original. Testament has two periods after it, and and is not capitalized. Comma after life. Executors is capitalized.