Research Project Outlined AI Roles in Museums

A new report identifies how institutions are integrating automated tools while navigating public skepticism.

Updated on Sept. 23, 2026 in Artificial Intelligence

Research Project Outlined AI Roles in Museums

Live Poll

Do you trust artificial intelligence to improve your experience when visiting museums?

Remuseum, a project organized by the Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art, has published a report titled Five Ways that AI Can Humanise Museums. The document explores how institutions might use artificial intelligence to manage databases, maintain institutional voice, and engage visitors.

Why it matters

The report aims to establish a middle-ground conversation regarding the opportunities and operational risks of AI in the arts. It emphasizes how automated tools could extend the impact of limited museum resources as institutions explore new digital engagement strategies.

The study draws on a convening of representatives from seven U.S. museums held in January 2026. While the project identifies five areas of potential AI impact, the findings exist in the context of persistent public pushback toward automated gallery exhibitions.

The players

Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art

An Arkansas-based institution focused on American art that organized the independent Remuseum research project.

MoMA

A New York museum specializing in modern and contemporary art that implemented an early AI-based digital wall in 2022.

National Gallery of Art

A Washington, DC-based federal museum currently exploring AI tools to assist staff with art-historical drafting.

Frye Art Museum

A Seattle-based institution that utilizes AI to enforce a consistent institutional voice across its written communications.

The details

The report outlines how museums currently deploy AI for internal and external functions. For instance, the Frye Art Museum uses AI to maintain a consistent institutional voice based on a staff-developed guide, while the National Gallery of Art utilizes AI to generate initial drafts of art-historical interpretations from authoritative sources for staff to refine. These tools are designed to augment existing workflows rather than replace curatorial decision-making.

2022: MoMA launched a digital wall installation featuring AI-based abstract compositions.
January 2026: Remuseum convened representatives from seven U.S. museums.
January 2026: An American Alliance of Museums survey of 2,045 U.S. adults was conducted.
September 23, 2026: The Remuseum report was officially published.

The Tech Race

This report follows a period of disparate experimentation where individual institutions, such as the Toledo Museum of Art, have begun developing bespoke AI experiences. It represents an early effort to codify these scattered implementations into a unified framework for the museum sector.

Visitors may soon encounter AI-driven experiences that allow for engagement with artwork after a museum visit, a feature currently under development at the Toledo Museum of Art. The technology is primarily intended to augment staff workflows, meaning most impacts will be felt in institutional communications rather than exhibition content.

The takeaway

While institutions are actively integrating AI to streamline databases and visitor engagement, significant public resistance to AI-driven exhibitions remains a primary hurdle. Readers should watch for future updates on the Toledo Museum of Art's post-visit interaction tools to see if these implementations soften consumer opposition.