Interactive AR Glasses for Museum Experiences: A Hybrid SEM–ANN Analysis of Experiential Value, Cognitive Load, and User Responses

Interactive augmented reality (AR) glasses are increasingly used in museums to integrate digital interpretation with physical exhibitions. However, the relationships between AR-glasses system characteristics, visitor experience, perceived learning outcomes, and post-use intentions remain insufficiently understood. Drawing on the Stimulus–Organism–Response framework, this study examines the structural associations of interaction naturalness, virtual–real integration quality, information clarity, and navigation support with experiential value and cognitive load, and their relationships with continuance intention, recommendation intention, and perceived learning outcomes. Cross-sectional self-report survey data were collected from 310 visitors who had used the AR-glasses system at the Liangzhu Museum in China. Structural equation modeling and artificial neural network analysis were combined to examine structural relationships and predictor importance. The results show that interaction naturalness and navigation support are positively associated with experiential value, whereas interaction naturalness and information clarity are negatively associated with cognitive load. The structural associations of virtual–real integration quality with experiential value and cognitive load are not statistically significant. Cognitive load is negatively associated with experiential value. Experiential value is positively associated with continuance intention, recommendation intention, and perceived learning outcomes, while cognitive load is negatively associated with these responses. The artificial neural network results further indicate that experiential value has the highest predictive importance for the three visitor response constructs, while interaction naturalness and information clarity are important predictors of visitors’ reported internal psychological states. These findings support complementary value-related and cognitive-burden perspectives in museum AR-glasses experiences and provide practical guidance for improving interaction design, information presentation, and navigation support in augmented-reality cultural heritage systems.