Using AI to Reimagine the Museum Experience
Insights / Blog

Using AI to Reimagine the Museum Experience

Using AI to Reimagine the Museum Experience

As technology rapidly changes and AI tools and usage increase, there is an opportunity for museums to harness AI, both to improve access to their expansive collections and to improve the visitor experience.

For example, the Smithsonian Institution, the world’s largest museum and research complex, holds unparalleled collections, totaling over 157 million artifacts, of which only 1% are on display.

How can museums use AI to better disseminate its resources while protecting the context, expertise, and branding built through decades of planning, research, curation, and stewardship? How can AI be used to improve the dissemination of information while avoiding outdated or inaccurate information by investing in its own AI tools?

Not only can AI better display the Institution’s millions of resources, but it can create tailored recommendations based on a visitor’s interests, mobility, and time commitment. Should the experience look different for a family rolling a stroller versus a conference presenter coming in during their lunch break? Museum FAQs are informative for the general public, but targeted personalized displays could raise current visitation back to pre-pandemic levels.

There are three foundational elements necessary for an AI assistant that can help visitors plan their strategy for fully appreciating the museum without getting overwhelmed or missing what they came for:

·       Customer experience

·       Data collection

·       Data governance

The collection of strong metadata based on tracked customer experience and structured governance over how it is used is what sets aside strong AI-use from AI slop. This looks like clear content management review processes, and accessibility-compliant narratives. By coupling strong data use with the Institution’s existing collection management systems, the Institution would have reliably strong AI output at a lower cost than what an off-the-shelf AI tool could provide.

Once strong data governance is established, it is important to maintain curator oversight and align AI functionality with institutional values on accuracy, expertise, and public trust, three of the most important services museums offer.

Once the program is established, visitors can simply select their preferences and go. How much walking? What level of interactivity? What exhibits are busy now but free later? Is anything leaving soon?

As the Institution approaches its 180th year, it should look at what existing technology can do for its future. What will 200 years of the Smithsonian Institution look like? How can AI help get it there?

Re-imagining digital engagement and the museum experience through AI‑ready metadata, scalable content architectures, and human-driven experience, museums can deploy AI assistants that enhance learning, broaden access, and deepen engagement, while protecting institutional credibility and public trust.

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Contributors

Corban von Ouhl |

Corban von Ouhl is a Senior Manager at Arc Aspicio. He has supported strategy and communications projects across the Department of Homeland Security working with diverse groups of stakeholders. Corban holds an M.A. in Public Policy from George Mason University.

View all Insights by Corban

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Using AI to Reimagine the Museum Experience

Using AI to Reimagine the Museum Experience

As technology rapidly changes and AI tools and usage increase, there is an opportunity for museums to harness AI, both to improve access to their expansive collections and to improve the visitor experience. For example, the Smithsonian Institution, the world’s largest museum and research complex, holds unparalleled collections, totaling over 157 million artifacts, of which only 1% are on display.  

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