How to Read Old Handwritten Letters
Many of us have a box of old letters from parents or grandparents. They are treasures, but the cursive handwriting can be faded, swirly, or just impossible to read. You squint at the page, trying to figure out if it says "barn" or "born," "friend" or "fiend."
AI is incredibly good at recognizing patterns, including messy handwriting. Think of it as a specialized magnifying glass that can guess words based on the rest of the sentence. While it can't "see" the paper directly unless you take a picture, you can type in the parts you can read, and it will help you fill in the blanks.
Note: Some newer AI apps on phones can "see" photos. If you have the ChatGPT app on your smartphone, you can actually take a picture of the letter, and it will type out the text for you!
👉Here's how: If you are using a computer and typing:
Open your AI tool.
Type the context. "I am transcribing a letter from 1945. It is about a soldier coming home."
Type the sentence with blanks. "The sentence says: 'We are so [blank] to see you next [blank]. The weather has been [blank].'"
Ask for guesses. "What words likely fit in these blanks?"
👉If you have a smartphone with the ChatGPT app:
Open the app.
Tap the camera icon.
Take a clear photo of the handwritten letter.
Ask: "Please type out the text of this letter for me."
It feels like magic to see your grandmother’s words turn into clear, readable text. It unlocks family stories that might have been lost forever.
Next step: Find one old letter or recipe card you can't read. Try using the AI to decipher it today.