Where should I draw the line with ai as someone who had previously used it with the research process for a (personal) project of mine?

Basically, im making a visual project on Queer people throughout recorded history, but until fairly recently I didn't question WHY ai is bad for this kind of work (that itself is another story.) I guess what I'm getting at is, without ai to help guide me in the right direction, how am I to find the right kind of resources I need? whether it be details on what their diets would've been like for my comics, fashion styles for the time, or other details I might need? I can elaborate more in the comments but im asking out of sincerity as someone who doesn't WANT to rely on ai but knows that Historians aren't gonna see or be able to answer my inquiries whenever I have one.