Update, August 29, 2026 — Project status clarification.
This article was first published in October 2025 and described Muse Companion at a conceptual stage. It has been updated to accurately reflect the current status of the project: a laboratory experiment conducted with two partner museums. No public deployment, no commercial version, and no general availability exist at this stage.
Current status
- Stage: laboratory experimentation
- Partner institutions: 2
- Public deployment: none
- Commercial availability: none
- Personal data collected: none
A New Way to Experience Museums
At Culture For Causes Network, we explore how technology can bring people closer to culture rather than distract them from it. Muse Companion is an exploratory prototype built to test one question: can an AI-assisted companion make a museum visit more engaging without pulling visitors’ attention onto a screen?
The prototype is currently being tested in a controlled setting with two partner museums. The hypotheses below are what we are testing, not features we are offering.
What Is Muse Companion?
Muse Companion is an AI-powered visitor companion that gamifies learning inside museums.
It accompanies visitors before, during, and after their visit, offering dynamic interactions and stories tailored to each person.
Three interaction models are being evaluated during the experiment:
- Treasure Hunt: does a clue-based path increase time spent observing artworks?
- Guide Mode: does a route adapted to stated interests improve perceived relevance?
- Scan Mode: does contextual information delivered on demand support or interrupt the visit?
None of these models is validated at this stage. The purpose of the experiment is to determine which, if any, produce a measurable effect.
Data handling during the experiment
No personal data is collected. No visitor profiling, no behavioural tracking, and no inference of emotional or psychological states is performed.
Evaluation relies on protocols agreed with the partner institutions and on aggregate counts that cannot be linked to an individual.
Sustainability and Data Sovereignty
Sustainability and sovereignty: objectives under evaluation
These are design objectives being measured during the experiment, not verified results:
- Energy sobriety: computational cost per interaction is measured, with the AFNOR SPEC 2314 frugality framework used as the reference for methodology.
- Data localisation: the prototype is designed so that institutional datasets can remain under the institution’s control.
- Deployment flexibility: on-premise and institution-chosen hosting are being tested.
Results will be published once the experimentation phase is complete.
Experimentation partners
The experimentation phase is closed. Two partner museums are taking part. We are not currently accepting additional participants and no commercial offer is attached to this project.
Scope
Muse Companion is an independent exploration carried out by Culture For Causes Network. It is not part of, and is not funded by, any application currently under review.