IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/h/spr/prbchp/978-3-032-23925-9_13.html

From Broadcast to Dialogue: A Design Framework for Conversational AI and Curatorial Insights in Cultural Heritage

In: Information and Communication Technologies in Tourism 2026

Author

Listed:
  • Matthew Kenely

    (SeyTravel Ltd)

  • Matthew Mangion

    (SeyTravel Ltd)

  • Mark Bugeja

    (University of Malta)

  • Jean Gové

    (Archdiocese of Malta)

  • Dylan Seychell

    (SeyTravel Ltd
    University of Malta)

Abstract

While immersive projection experiences powerfully engage heritage site audiences, they remain one-way broadcasts lacking interactivity and personalisation. This paper presents a design framework for augmenting these installations with conversational AI, transforming passive viewing into active dialogue. Drawing from the “Face-to-Face with Caravaggio” experience at St. John’s Co-Cathedral, Malta, we propose a framework enabling visitors to engage with embodied historical personas while providing curators with data-driven insights through anonymised interaction analysis. Our design science approach addresses core principles of authenticity maintenance, ethical deployment, and scalable integration, offering heritage institutions a replicable model. Mixed-methods evaluation reveals 72.4% visitor interest in AI companions, with primary concerns around overshadowing artwork. Expert interviews emphasise audience segmentation, historical authenticity, and complementary roles for AI in heritage interpretation. This evolves static exhibitions into dynamic, visitor-driven dialogues enhancing both engagement and operational intelligence.

Suggested Citation

  • Matthew Kenely & Matthew Mangion & Mark Bugeja & Jean Gové & Dylan Seychell, 2026. "From Broadcast to Dialogue: A Design Framework for Conversational AI and Curatorial Insights in Cultural Heritage," Springer Proceedings in Business and Economics, in: Peter O'Connor & Mattia Rainoldi & Julia Neidhardt (ed.), Information and Communication Technologies in Tourism 2026, chapter 13, pages 183-197, Springer.
    • Handle: RePEc:spr:prbchp:978-3-032-23925-9_13
    DOI: 10.1007/978-3-032-23925-9_13
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    To our knowledge, this item is not available for download. To find whether it is available, there are three options:
    1. Check below whether another version of this item is available online.
    2. Check on the provider's web page whether it is in fact available.
    3. Perform a
    for a similarly titled item that would be available.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    ;
    ;
    ;
    ;
    ;

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:spr:prbchp:978-3-032-23925-9_13. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    We have no bibliographic references for this item. You can help adding them by using this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Sonal Shukla or Springer Nature Abstracting and Indexing (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.springer.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.