FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS (FAQ)

DNAversity is an AI-assisted family-history research tool from Our Genetic Legacy. It combines OGL’s Legacy Tracing™ methodology with 37 specialized AI genealogy roles to help you organize information, investigate questions, evaluate evidence, and identify next steps.

Harriet is your AI Research Director. She helps clarify your research question, selects the appropriate specialists, explains their findings, and keeps your work focused. You communicate with Harriet rather than managing all 37 roles yourself.

DNAversity uses Harriet to coordinate a team of specialist agents. The agents represent these skills:Harriet: Research direction and coordinationRosalind: Genetic genealogy and DNA-match analysisCarter: Historical and genealogical records researchPauli: Evidence evaluation and relationship-status reviewIda: Independent challenge and red-team reviewOctavia: Unknown-parent and kinship reconstructionConstance: Privacy, consent, working names, and disclosure safetySankofa: African American, Caribbean, and African Diaspora researchBelle: European-connected and colonial mixed-ancestry branchesDeloria: Native and Indigenous genealogyCarlos: International, multilingual, and immigration recordsPaloma: Geography, migration, boundaries, and mapsZora: Aliases, spelling variations, racial classifications, and FAN researchArturo: Research collections and family handoffToni: Family narratives, Legacy Archives, and museum presentationsMarian: Hereditary and lineage-society eligibilityOrigins: Adoption, guardianship, orphanage, and sealed-record researchNova: Donor conception, surrogacy, and unusual half-sibling networksEcho: Endogamy, overlapping clusters, and inflated shared DNASeshat: Segment-level DNA evidenceYaa: Direct paternal-line and Y-DNA researchLuna: Direct maternal-line and mtDNA researchAda: Quantitative comparison of competing relationship hypothesesLiberty: DAR, SAR, C.A.R., and Revolutionary-era lineage researchMay: Mayflower descent researchAngela: Jamestowne Society and early Virginia lineagesTemperance: Colonial, pioneer, Huguenot, War of 1812, and related societiesEstrella: Mexico, Central America, South America, and Spanish colonial recordsAurora: Caribbean island and inter-island diaspora researchNala: African continental and regional ancestry researchIemanja: Brazil, Portugal, Angola, Mozambique, Cape Verde, and Lusophone Atlantic researchMiriam: Jewish, Ashkenazi, Sephardic, Mizrahi, Holocaust, and displaced-person recordsLayla: Levant, Maghreb, Arab-world, Ottoman, and MENA diaspora researchDisha: South Asian genealogy and diaspora researchMei: Chinese, East Asian, and related diaspora genealogyRizal: Filipino and Philippine diaspora researchTala: Polynesian, Micronesian, Melanesian, and Pacific genealogyHarriet does not run all 37 agents at once. She selects the specialists relevant to your question and explains which agents were used and why.

No. Beginners and experienced researchers are welcome. Harriet adjusts explanations to your genealogy, DNA-research, and AI experience. Your baseline answers are saved in your tester profile when that profile is available.

No. DNAversity can help with historical records, family stories, research planning, and evidence evaluation. DNA-related workflows become available when you have appropriate information to work with.

Select Request Access on the DNAversity page. Once approved as a DNAversity Beta Tester, log in to the OGL website to access downloads, setup instructions, and beta resources.

Yes. You need your own account with a supported AI provider. A free account may be sufficient; a paid AI subscription is not required simply to participate. AI-provider charges, if any, are separate from DNAversity site access.

The current beginner setup guides cover Claude, ChatGPT, and Gemini. Claude supports direct installation of the DNAversity skill ZIP. The provided ChatGPT and Gemini setup paths use reference files and saved instructions. Features, tools, and usage limits differ, and these workflows have not been fully tested across every platform and account.

Start with the account you already have. Consider upgrading only if a specific usage or file limit prevents you from completing your work. Paid access does not guarantee unlimited use, better evidence, or accurate conclusions.

Open the AI platform where you set up DNAversity:Claude: Open a new chat and make sure the DNAversity skill is enabled.ChatGPT: Open your DNAversity project and start a chat inside it.Gemini: Open your saved DNAversity Gem.Then type:“Use DNAversity. Harriet, help me get started.”Harriet should introduce DNAversity, explain privacy choices, and guide you through getting started. Have your assigned Tester ID ready. You do not need to activate each agent separately.For your first attempt, you can type:“Use DNAversity with a fictional practice case so I can learn the process before sharing real research.”If the AI cannot access the DNAversity instructions, return to your platform’s setup guide before adding private information.

Open the same DNAversity project, Gem, or enabled skill. Provide your latest saved case and beta-state files if they are not already available, then type:“Harriet, restore my saved case and tester profile, check for outstanding feedback, and help me continue my research.”Complete any outstanding session feedback before beginning new research.

Before sharing research, review your provider’s current privacy controls:Claude: Settings → Privacy → turn off Help Improve our AI models.ChatGPT: Settings → Data Controls → turn off Improve the model for everyone.Gemini: Open Gemini Apps Activity → turn off Keep Activity. Sending feedback through Gemini’s own feedback tools can still allow associated content to be used for improvement.The platform-selection popup links to official instructions. Settings may differ for work or school accounts. These controls do not eliminate all processing, retention, or safety review, and they do not undo training already completed.

The current workflow usually expects you to sign in to your own genealogy accounts and provide only the relevant information you choose to share.Depending on the AI platform you use, it may ask for permission to access a website or tool that you control. Only approve access when you understand what the platform can view or do, and only for the specific task you requested. You can decline permission and instead bring back screenshots, copied text, or redacted records.Never give Harriet or any AI platform your password, security code, raw DNA file, or unrestricted account access. DNAversity does not independently connect to your genealogy accounts, contact relatives, change your tree, or make purchases.

DNAversity can help assess evidence and explain what it supports, what conflicts, and what remains unknown. AI output is not proof by itself. Verify citations and original records, and review any proposed relationship or family-tree change before accepting it.

Ask Harriet to export two separate items:Your private research case.Your product-only beta state, including your profile, session ledger, and feedback. Save both in a private folder on your device. Never paste your private research case into the feedback form.You can type:“Harriet, export my research case and my complete beta state as separate files so I can save them and return later.”

At the end of each qualifying research session, Harriet asks exactly five adaptive questions based on your activity, the agents used, the session outcome, and relevant previous feedback. She then creates a product-only feedback record containing your Tester ID and Session ID.Paste the complete record into the DNAversity Beta Feedback Form, submit it, and return to Harriet with SUBMITTEDfollowed by your Session ID. Harriet records your confirmation but cannot independently verify Google Forms receipt.If you leave before completing the process, the session remains feedback_pending. When you return, Harriet requires that feedback before beginning new research. You can still save or export your case, request privacy help, or stop participating.