Six months ago, the Musée d’Orsay made the bold decision to leverage artificial intelligence to answer visitor questions. Within just one month, the conversational agent developed by Ask Mona freed up the equivalent of six months of human work. Today, the solution does more than relieve staff. It is transforming visitor engagement and optimizing the museum’s operations.

The Challenge: Managing Visitor Inquiries at Major Museums

The Musée d’Orsay welcomes hundreds of thousands of visitors every year, both French and international. With such high attendance, practical questions about opening hours, ticketing, accessibility, or visit conditions quickly accumulate, overwhelming the museum’s reception and communication teams.

Before implementing the conversational agent, staff were forced to prioritize urgent inquiries over strategic projects. Visitors often faced long response times, which could be frustrating. The challenge was clear: respond quickly, accurately, and at scale while maintaining a high-quality human touch.

Ask Mona Conversational Agent: The Right Tool at the Right Time

To address this challenge, the Musée d’Orsay deployed an intuitive and accessible conversational agent capable of:

• Answering practical visitor questions instantly
• Guiding visitors to relevant information
• Helping visitors plan their visits autonomously

Accessible via the museum’s website and multilingual, the agent quickly became the first point of contact for visitors seeking immediate answers. Its ease of use enabled rapid adoption, even among less tech-savvy audiences.

Moreover, Orsay's AI agent grants a multilingual interface adapted to the wide range of nationalities which come across the museum. The available languages are the following : French, English, Spanish, German, Italian, Korean and Chinese.

Benefits for Visitors

Speed and efficiency: no more long waits by email or phone

Autonomy and convenience: visitors can plan their visit according to their needs

Accessibility: simple, intuitive, and easy to use for all audiences

Visitors now enjoy a smoother, more reassuring experience while regaining the pleasure of preparing their visit instead of dealing with administrative hurdles.

Impact on Museum Staff

For the museum team, the conversational agent helped:

• Reduce email and phone congestion
• Focus on complex, high-value inquiries
• Undertake strategic projects that were previously postponed due to lack of time

The result is twofold. Working conditions for staff improved and visitors received higher-quality service.

AI as a Strategic Tool Through Data

Beyond managing inquiries, the agent collects valuable data:

• Visitor nationalities
• Frequency and types of questions
• Trends and specific needs

These insights support marketing and communication teams in understanding audiences, anticipating needs, and shaping cultural strategy. The AI agent becomes a decision-making tool, not just an assistant.

Sustainable Success and Recognition

Six months after launch, the conversational agent is no longer an experiment. It is a central part of visitor reception and experience at the Musée d’Orsay.

Adopted quickly by visitors and embraced by staff, its value is measurable over the long term. The initial experiment has become a long-lasting success. AI is no longer a gadget but a strategic lever for optimization and cultural innovation.

Conclusion: AI as an Investment That Delivers

The case of the Musée d’Orsay clearly demonstrates what a well-designed conversational agent can achieve. It reduces operational load, enhances visitor experience, and provides strategic insights for cultural management.

Today, AI allows the museum to deliver the right answer at the right time for visitors and staff alike, turning a technological experiment into measurable, sustainable success.

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