T here’s no ignoring the issue of artificial intelligence (AI) right now, but for most of us, we’re still getting to grips with what it actually means in practice.

For now, everyone is looking at one another, and it’s important to learn from the early adopters about what works – and what doesn’t.

Many visitor attractions have traditionally been a little slow to adopt new technologies, but this is not the time to hang back.

It’s important to be aware of the potential pitfalls of AI, but it offers huge opportunities – for customising experiences, collating and interpreting data, improving efficiency, saving money, enhancing storytelling, offering novel in-person experiences and much more.

Attractions organisations currently using AI give valuable information about its potential for the industry. Disney, ever the pioneer, has set up a taskforce to study AI and how it can be used across its entertainment and theme park businesses.

Disney Research recently unveiled a prototype Baby Groot robot that uses AI machine-learning techniques to adapt to real-world scenarios, meaning it has the potential to move and act on its own, and interact with theme park visitors. The potential for this kind of technology to meet a growing desire for personalised experiences is huge. Characters could engage with individual guests, for example, and simulator rides could offer unique stories for each visitor.

Making sense of data to offer improved experiences is another area where AI can prove immensely useful.

London’s National Gallery has developed its own AI systems to predict the popularity of temporary exhibitions using past attendance data, and the British Museum has partnered with the Alan Turing Institute to use AI systems to process information from visitors to provide detailed analysis of their behaviour.

So where’s this all going? The simple answer is, no-one knows, but with AI set to enmesh itself more and more into our lives, those who don’t get to grips with it now run the risk of being left behind.

This industry is great at collaboration and sharing knowledge – this was particularly evident during the COVID-19 pandemic. Now is the time for experimenting, sharing and being bold. We’d love to hear how you’re getting on.