From Research to Reality: What Museum Visitors Taught Us About AI Voice Guides

Remember that feeling when you finish a massive project and suddenly realize it was just the beginning? That's exactly where I am after completing my master's thesis at Aalto University on AI voice guidance in museums. The research is done, the grades are in, and the results? They've completely changed how I think about what Mooseum should become.

The Thesis That Changed Everything

For months, I've been deep in research, studying how AI-powered voice guidance affects museum experiences. I interviewed visitors, tested different voice models, analyzed user behavior, and dove into the technical challenges of making AI voices feel natural and engaging in cultural spaces. What started as an academic exercise became something much more revealing.

The results were clearer than I ever expected: people absolutely love AI voice guides. Not just tolerate them, not just find them useful—they genuinely enjoy the experience and want more of it. Visitors told us they felt more engaged with exhibits, learned things they wouldn't have discovered on their own, and actually preferred the AI voices over traditional audio guides in many cases.

But here's the twist: while the research validated that people love AI voice guides, it also revealed a bigger challenge I hadn't anticipated.

The Reality Check

Through interviews and surveys with 26 participants, the results were clear: people absolutely want AI voice guides and think the app concept is cool. But as I started building and expanding the platform, I hit a fundamental problem that no amount of research could have predicted.

I was the only content creator.

Think about it: every voice guide, every museum description, every piece of content on the platform was coming from me. Unless I could somehow clone myself and visit every museum in the world, this approach would never scale. I realized that focusing on detailed indoor mapping and navigation features—while technically impressive—was solving the wrong problem first.

What Museum Visitors Really Want (And What They Actually Need)

The research told me people wanted to collect their museum experiences. "This app is so cool!" became a phrase I heard over and over. But what I learned through building was something deeper: people want a personal museum companion that could help them:

But here's what I discovered while building: unless we get people actively using the platform, I remain the only content creator. And if I'm the only one creating content, we'll never have enough coverage to make the app truly valuable for users everywhere.

The more I thought about it, the more I realized that while indoor mapping and precise navigation are valuable, they're not the core of what makes museum visits memorable. It's the stories, the discoveries, the personal connections to art and history—and the desire to build on those experiences over time.

The Pivot That Makes Sense

This realization led to what every entrepreneur dreads and secretly hopes for: a pivot. Not because the research was wrong—people do love AI voice guides—but because I discovered a fundamental scaling challenge that research alone couldn't reveal.

Instead of leading with complex mapping technology that requires me to manually create content for every single museum, Mooseum is evolving into something more sustainable: your personal museum companion that brings value to users everywhere, immediately.

The strategy is simple but powerful: start with something that works globally, then layer on the specialized features. Think of it as your museum passport meets your personal curator. You can:

Why This Changes Everything

Here's what I've learned: building great technology means starting with what people actually want, but also understanding the practical realities of how you'll deliver it. My thesis research validated that people love AI voice guides and want to collect museum experiences. But building the actual product taught me that unless we solve the content creation challenge first, we'll never reach enough people to make it work.

The mapping features aren't gone forever. They'll come back when we have a thriving community of users who are already finding value in the platform. But right now, focusing on helping people discover and collect their favorite museums means we can create value immediately, for any museum lover, anywhere in the world—without requiring me to personally visit and map every single museum first.

What's Next

Over the next few months, you'll see Mooseum transform into this new vision. We're building features that help you curate your personal museum collection, discover hidden gems based on your interests, and yes—enjoy those AI voice guides whenever they're available.

The research phase is complete, but the real experiment is just beginning. If you're someone who loves museums, who gets that special feeling walking through galleries filled with art and history, I'd love for you to be part of this journey.

Because at the end of the day, museums aren't just about navigation—they're about inspiration, discovery, and the stories that stay with us long after we leave. Let's build something that honors that.

Want to be among the first to try the new Mooseum experience? Join our community and help shape the future of museum discovery.