Yes, for routine questions: fed with your own content, the chatbot answers spectators and sends them on to your programme and booking pages; the box office keeps refunds and delicate cases.
- What it needs: prices by format and by profile, access and parking, accessibility equipment, subscription terms.
- With the box office: refunds, dated tickets, disability, groups and school parties; France’s CNIL rules out major decisions taken by a bot alone.
- Since 2 August 2026, the EU’s AI Act provides that the spectator knows they are talking to a bot.
- Four plans: €0, €39 or €59 a month excluding VAT, Enterprise on a custom quote.
In France, August 2026 filled cinemas with nearly 20 million admissions, a total the CNC, the country’s national cinema body, describes as a record unmatched since 1980. More than four spectators in ten reserve their seat in advance, so the questions arrive before the screening. A place booked several days ahead is a request that can surface at any hour.
What the bot answers, what the box office keeps
The chatbot answers from your own content: the price grid, the directions pages, the programme, the subscriptions. It does service, not film recommendations. A question with no written answer goes back to your team.
| The question | The chatbot answers | The box office takes over |
|---|---|---|
| The price of a screening, by format and by profile | Yes | Nothing, as long as your price grid is up to date. |
| Getting to the cinema and parking | Yes | Nothing, drawing on your practical information pages. |
| Tonight’s screenings for a given film | Partly | The bot points to your programme page; real time would take a custom connection to your ticketing software. |
| Booking a seat | Partly | The bot sends visitors to your booking page; the purchase finishes on the site, as at Pathé in 2018 or Regal in 2026. |
| Audio description or subtitles for a screening | Partly | Only from the accessibility data declared by the distributor or entered by your team. |
| The subscription or the cinema’s membership card | Partly | General information on the bot’s side; a question about an account goes to customer service. |
| Refunding or exchanging a dated ticket | No | At the box office. As a rule, no right of withdrawal for a leisure activity tied to a set date (French Consumer Code, art. L221-28, 12°); your own terms apply. |
| A group, a school screening, a private hire | Partly | The bot collects the request; your team confirms dates and quote. |
| An item lost in the auditorium | Partly | The bot collects the description; your team replies. |
The precedents at Pathé, UGC and Regal
The big chains led the way, voice first. Pathé and UGC tried it in France; Regal followed in the United States with a ChatGPT app.
Voice assistant
Pathé Gaumont
Launched on Google Assistant in 2018, this assistant finds a screening from the film and the cinema you name, then sends a link to buy on mobile. Whether it still runs today is not known.
Showtimes by voice
UGC
“OK Google. Parler à UGC”: all UGC showtimes by voice, with voice booking for UGC Illimité subscribers.
Help centre
Pathé’s AI agent
In its help centre (March 2026 update), Pathé presents an AI agent for visitors; account questions go to customer service.
ChatGPT app
Regal, United States
In April 2026, the American chain launched a ChatGPT app that displays showtimes and sends buyers back to its site to complete the purchase; “first of its kind” is the chain’s own claim.
41.7%
Of spectators in France reserve their seat in advance, 6.4 points more than in 2025.
CNC, September 2026
When the box office has to take over
The bot informs, the box office decides.
Common belief
The chatbot can complete a refund or a ticket exchange on its own.
In reality
A conversation with a chatbot, without human involvement, cannot on its own lead to major decisions for the person concerned, the CNIL, France’s data protection authority, recalls; it cites the application of higher prices as an example.
An accessibility request can contain health data: the CNIL advises warning people to refrain from sharing sensitive data, then erasing the conversations concerned. The law on tickets, withdrawal as much as resale, is covered in our article on the ticketing chatbot.
Accessibility, to prepare before the bot
In France, your venue is an establishment receiving the public and, as the CNC recalls, a cinema falls under the law of 11 February 2005 and its implementing decree of 17 May 2006.
Good to know
The French order on the sensory accessibility of venues is still shown as awaiting publication (CNC page of March 2026). Distributors, on their side, declare film by film the works that are subtitled or audio-described in Cinedi, a database exhibitors can consult. Your bot will only answer about a screening from that data, entered in your content.
What Botnation brings to a cinema
You start from the customer service and FAQ templates, since no dedicated cinema template exists, and the bot draws its answers from your FAQs, documentation and help articles without rebuilding them. On the channel side: website, WhatsApp, Messenger, Instagram, SMS, or a voice chatbot on a dedicated number. Our article on the types of chatbot details the options.
Leisure
Les Bains d’Alia
According to Botnation, this spa’s agent answers questions on opening hours, prices, access and private hire, and sends visitors on to booking; up to 100 calls a day at peak times.
Transport
TER SNCF
According to Botnation, the TER bot handles lost property, assistance for passengers with reduced mobility and combined fares.
With Botnation
Answer the spectators and hand over to your team when it is needed
The client support module pairs the chatbot with live chat: the AI chatbot handles simple requests and passes the conversation to a human when the situation calls for it, Botnation explains. Live chat is included in the price of the plans.
- Answers built from your existing FAQ.
- The conversation’s context travels with the handover to the advisor.
What the platform costs each month
The four plans are published on Botnation’s pricing page.
€0
Free, for a first trial.
Botnation, October 2026
€39
Basic, per month, excluding VAT.
Botnation, October 2026
€59
Pro, per month, excluding VAT.
Botnation, October 2026
On quote
Enterprise, with chatbot building services.
Botnation, October 2026
AI features consume credits bought in addition, in packs from €25 excluding VAT for 1,000 credits. Every price is without commitment, Botnation states.
Four steps before going live
-
Gather your content
The price grid by format and profile, access and parking, accessibility equipment, subscription terms, group and private hire contacts: the bot will answer from these documents.
-
Choose your channels
The cinema’s website first, then WhatsApp, Messenger, Instagram, SMS or voice on a dedicated number; our guide to developing a chatbot details the preparation.
-
Set the handover
Refunds, groups, accessibility requests: decide when the conversation goes to a human and who picks it up, with its context.
-
Display the framework
Say that the spectator is talking to an AI, a European obligation since 2 August 2026. Warn about sensitive data, set the chat cookie only when the chat opens, keep the exchanges as long as needed.
A sample conversation on WhatsApp
Good evening, where can we park near the cinema?
Our “Getting to the cinema” page lists the car parks nearby.
Thank you. Is tonight’s screening audio described?
Audio description is shown screening by screening on the programme page.
And a refund for my ticket for tonight?
I am passing your request on to the box office team.
Frequently asked questions
Can the chatbot show tonight’s screenings in real time?
Not out of the box: real time means connecting the bot to your ticketing software, a custom project our experts can study on quote (Enterprise plan). Until then, it points visitors to your programme page.
Can it sell seats?
It sends the spectator to your booking page, as Pathé did in 2018 and Regal in 2026.
Which channels can the bot run on?
Website, WhatsApp, Messenger, Instagram, SMS, or voice on a dedicated number, according to Botnation’s list.
Does the bot have to announce that it is an AI?
Since 2 August 2026, the EU’s AI Act has required telling people when they interact with an AI system. The text chiefly addresses providers; a clear notice remains the simple route.
Can it answer international visitors in their own language?
According to Botnation, its tourism page covers cultural sites too, with answers in five languages: French, English, Spanish, German, Italian.
A first chatbot for your cinema
The platform’s free trial lets you build a first bot around your FAQ.
Sources
- Cinema-going practices in France (Les pratiques cinématographiques des Français), CNC, 24 September 2026.
- Cinema attendance (Fréquentation cinématographique), CNC, October 2026.
- Accessibility of films and venues (L’accessibilité des salles de cinéma), CNC, 30 March 2026.
- Pathé Gaumont on Google Assistant, Pathé, 5 October 2018.
- Contacting customer service, Pathé help centre, 10 March 2026.
- UGC on Google Assistant, ugc.fr, October 2026.
- Regal’s ChatGPT app for moviegoers, Boxoffice Pro, 10 April 2026.
- CNIL advice on chatbots and people’s rights, 19 February 2021.
- Regulation (EU) 2024/1689 on artificial intelligence, Articles 50 and 113, EUR-Lex.
- French Consumer Code, article L221-28 (12°), Légifrance.
