Art museums are increasingly using visitor data to make galleries more accessible, participatory and tailored to individual interests. This shift matters because museums are moving beyond their traditional role as cultural authorities towards shaping how people discover, interpret and engage with art.

The Van Gogh Museum in Amsterdam has worked with business-school researchers over several years to assess how analytics can improve visits. A study based on a random sample of 25,000 from 1.5 million museum visits found that visitors’ choices are influenced by the physical placement of artworks and their position in digital guides, including whether they continue exploring or leave.