Since June 2025, visitors to the gardens of the Château de Versailles have been able to speak aloud with about twenty statues, thanks to artificial intelligence developed by Ask Mona, in collaboration with OpenAI.

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“This hyper-interactive, in-depth and personalized approach combines the best of technology with the best of mediation. It will lead to a leap forward in research.”
— Pierre-Emmanuel Lecerf

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Accessible via QR code, with no need for downloads or dedicated equipment, the device offers personalized mediation in French, English or Spanish, based on content validated by the Château’s scientific teams.

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🎯 What Visitors Take Away

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The experience attracts nearly 1,000 users per day, with strong engagement in all three languages.

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Data collected shows a direct impact on visitor behavior: people spend 3.5 times more time in front of each sculpture when they interact with the AI.

“The experience is crazy... Why didn’t we have this before?” — @estherium__

“This should be installed in every museum in Paris.” — Visitor at Versailles (M6)

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🗞️ What the Press Is Saying

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The project has been featured in over 100 French and international media articles, with no media buying.

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It generated €516,000 in advertising equivalent value in France and reached 20.7 million French people — nearly one in three.

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“It’s fantastic.” — M6 (19.45)

“We’re opening an incredible door — it could allow museums to do so many things, and it’s amazing!” — France 2 – Télématin

“It’s as if they were alive.” — France Inter

“AI is revolutionizing museum visits.” — CNEWS

“Fiction becomes reality.” — Les Échos

“French excellence, American innovation.” — Le Parisien

“Informative and fun.” — Le Parisien

“Feeling like a kid again with your phone in vintage walkie-talkie mode in the gardens of Versailles — like calling the ‘Sphinx ridden by Cupid.’” — Le Parisien

“It is certainly a step up from traditional audioguides, providing instant answers to visitors.” — Business Insider

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📚 Some of the Media That Covered the Project

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France:
Le Monde, Le Figaro, Libération, Le Parisien, Les Échos, La Croix, Télérama, France Info, France Inter, TF1, France 2, RFI, M6, France Culture, CNEWS, France 24

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International:
The Guardian, El País, Business Insider, Forbes, Artnet, Artnet News, ANSA, Arte, RAI

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🔍 And For You?

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This project shows that thoughtful innovation, built with historical and technological rigor, can simultaneously enhance visits, engage audiences, and extend the reach of an institution far beyond its physical walls.