AI and Value Co-creation in Museums: Promoting Inclusion for People with Disabilities

This study investigates how AI can foster accessibility and inclusion in Italian museums, focusing on visitors with physical, sensory, and cognitive disabilities. While AI applications in the cultural sector have mainly been explored for efficiency, marketing or engagement, their potential to reduce accessibility barriers remains under-researched. Adopting the paradigm of value co-creation, this research examines how AI can support participatory processes in which people with disabilities are co-creators of cultural experiences. A multiple-case qualitative design was employed, involving over twenty Italian museums differing in governance, size, and collections. Data were collected through a semi-structured online questionnaire administered to accessibility managers and complemented by institutional material analysis. Findings reveal strong recognition of AI’s potential to personalise experiences and enhance accessibility, particularly through tools such as speech-to-text systems, automatic audio descriptions, and multimodal chatbots. However, implementation remains limited: most projects are experimental, and only a few tools have been systematically integrated. Barriers identified include financial constraints, limited expertise, and organisational rigidity. The study contributes theoretically by advancing the discourse on inclusive value co-creation, positioning AI as both a medium and enabler of accessibility. Managerially, it emphasises the need for systemic strategies that integrate AI into governance and participatory decision-making. Sustainable inclusion requires not only technological adoption but also interdisciplinary collaboration and policy support.