House of Bols: Telling a 450-year-old story with modern tech

An all-inclusive journey through time and taste

At the start of the tour, visitors grab a self-guided audio only tour device and choose from different languages — Dutch, English, Spanish, Italian, French, German, or Chinese. With a simple setup, they’re ready to go and explore the history of Bols, from its founding by Pieter Jacobsz Bols to its global expansion under his son, Lucas Bols.

The exhibition walks guests through centuries of heritage and innovation, including the brand’s iconic partnership with KLM and their signature Delft Blue houses filled with Bols Genever.

From the roots of distillation to the herbs and spices that defined their early recipes, the storytelling goes deep into the craft behind Bols spirits. And of course, no visit is complete without the cocktail section, where visitors not only learn to mix like a pro but also get to enjoy a freshly crafted drink at the end.

One of the most remarkable aspects of the House of Bols experience is how inclusive it is. With its easy-to-use audio guide device, visitors of all ages can enjoy the experience without the hassle of scanning codes or relying on phones and earphones — which can often reduce engagement or cause distractions. This audio-only format helps reduce distractions, allowing guests to stay fully immersed in the experience.

In addition to that, they offer the tour in seven languages, welcoming a diverse, global audience by breaking down language barriers and delivering high-quality mutlingual narrations.

Tours in seven different languages, what a job, huh? This may sound like a costly and time-consuming production. But actually, it wasn't like that. Bols didn’t need to hire a full creative team or voice actors for every language. Instead, they turned to AI-powered storytelling with the help of Guide-ID’s tour editor platform.

How AI made it all possible?
Using Guide-ID’s AI content tool, the Bols team was able to create high-quality, multilingual audio tours in just a few steps, without studio recordings and no complicated production timelines.

With its text to speech integration, the platform helps to generate lifelike, human-sounding narration in minutes. Teams can choose from a range of voices — male, female, or non-binary — apply them to more than 30 languages and customize the tone that suits the atmosphere of the exhibition.

Even when starting from scratch, the system can generate full scripts based on inputs like theme, audience, and tone. Having as a result content that feels tailored, professional, and aligned with the spirit of the exhibition.



Smarter tools, same human touch

“AI doesn’t replace creative teams; it supports them”. By handling time-consuming tasks like structuring scripts, translating content, and voicing narration, the platform lets them stay focused on what matters most: telling meaningful stories that engage with the users and improve visitor engagement with audio guide experiences.

And once the draft is ready, the content can be fine-tuned by using Guide-ID’s editor, then it converts it into natural-sounding audio using premium tools from Microsoft and ElevenLabs, ready to be played through the Audio-only tour device Podcatcher Pro.

As the Guide-ID product team puts it:

“AI handles the structure, the translations, and the groundwork. But the heart of the story — the facts, the narrative choices, the emotion — still comes from the museum.”

A new chapter for cultural storytelling

By integrating AI into their workflow, House of Bols has shown what’s possible when tradition meets technology. They’ve unlocked a flexible, cost-effective way to create and update content and raised the bar for what a modern, interactive experience can be.

It’s proof that even a 450-year-old story can be told in a fresh, dynamic way with the right tools and a little help from AI.

If we’ve sparked your curiosity and you’d like to see how the platform works, follow the link to explore this powerful tool: Guide-ID | Our Content Management System, the Platform