Museums test AI phone guides as Cleveland plans ArtLens update

In short: More museums are using AI to turn visitors’ phones into personalized guides, and the Cleveland Museum of Art plans an updated ArtLens app in November 2026.

What's going on

Museums are starting to use phone apps that act like a personal guide. The idea is simple. You point your phone at an artwork, scan it, then ask questions in everyday language and get answers based on what you care about.

These tools are often described as a “curator in your pocket.” Museums say this is not meant to replace human curators and educators. Instead, it is meant to make the museum’s own knowledge easier to explore, like having a helpful staff member available on demand.

One example is the Cleveland Museum of Art. It plans to launch an updated ArtLens app in November 2026. The museum’s current app already lets visitors scan artworks to see related information, and its ArtLens gallery already includes AI-based experiences.

This shift is not only about visitor guides. A UNESCO and ICOM survey of more than 400 museums in 90 countries found that 57% of respondents use AI. Many said their use is still experimental or led by individual staff members.

What to watch

The same survey found that 55% of museums reported having no internal AI policy or guidelines. Museums also raised concerns about accuracy, copyright, data protection, and bias.

For a museum guide to be trustworthy, it needs to stick closely to the museum’s own collection records, like a tour guide reading from the museum’s official notes. It also needs to clearly separate confirmed facts from interpretation, and say when it is not sure.

Source: NYTimes