From Cheapest Price to Smartest Choice: How AI Is Redefining Price Comparison

At Balkan eCommerce Summit 2026, Sorin Dochian explored how AI, consumer behavior, and data are transforming price comparison platforms from simple “lowest-price” engines into intelligent recommendation ecosystems focused on trust, convenience, and smarter purchase decisions. Drawing on insights from the Heureka Group ecosystem and platforms such as Pazaruvaj and Compari, the session demonstrated how modern shopping behavior is evolving beyond price alone.

The Evolution of Price Comparison Platforms

Sorin began by explaining how traditional price comparison platforms originally worked:

• users searched for a product
• results were sorted by lowest price
• and the cheapest offer typically won.

For many years, the entire industry focused on:

• price transparency
• visibility
• and competitiveness.

The platforms rewarded merchants with:

lower prices = higher visibility.

However, according to Sorin, this model has fundamentally changed.

Today’s consumers no longer evaluate products based only on:

• price
• or discounts.

Modern shopping decisions increasingly depend on:

• reviews
• delivery speed
• merchant trust
• payment flexibility
• product information
• and overall shopping experience.

Heureka Group’s Position in European eCommerce

The presentation also introduced the scale of the Heureka Group ecosystem.

The company currently operates in:

• 9 European countries
• with more than 23 million monthly users
• over 55,000 merchants
• and approximately 19 million listed products.

Sorin explained that the group operates some of the leading comparison and marketplace ecosystems across:

• Czechia
• Slovakia
• Hungary
• Slovenia
• Romania
• and Bulgaria.

Platforms such as:

• Pazaruvaj
• Compari
• and other regional comparison services
  have evolved far beyond traditional comparison engines into integrated commerce ecosystems.

Consumers Are Experiencing “Decision Fatigue”

One of the key concepts discussed during the lecture was:

decision fatigue.

According to Sorin, consumers today face:

• too many products
• too many sellers
• too many delivery options
• and too many purchasing decisions.

Instead of simplifying shopping, the massive amount of available choices often creates:

• confusion
• hesitation
• and abandoned purchases.

This means that:

simply offering the cheapest price is no longer enough.

Consumers increasingly ask:

• “What is the smartest choice?”
  rather than only:
• “What is the cheapest product?”

AI Is Changing How People Search and Compare Products

A major focus of the presentation was how AI tools are reshaping product discovery.

Sorin explained that users are increasingly moving beyond:

• traditional search engines
• and static comparison pages.

Instead, they now ask AI assistants:

• for recommendations
• comparisons
• summaries
• and purchase advice.

Consumers may:

• discover a product online
• then ask ChatGPT, Gemini, Claude, or Grok:
  • whether the product is worth buying
  • which alternatives are better
  • or which merchant is more trustworthy.

AI tools no longer compare only:

• prices.

They compare:

• reviews
• availability
• delivery
• trust
• specifications
• and overall value.

According to Sorin:

AI did not change shopping behavior alone – consumers themselves trained AI through their searches, clicks, comparisons, and interactions.

Structured Data and Trusted Reviews Become Critical

The lecture emphasized that:

trustworthy structured data is becoming one of the most valuable assets in AI-driven commerce.

As AI shopping assistants rely on external information sources, platforms with:

• verified reviews
• trusted merchants
• accurate product data
• and strong moderation
  gain significant long-term advantages.

Sorin explained that onboarding merchants into Heureka Group platforms requires:

• extensive verification
• quality control
• and trust-building processes.

This ensures that:

• AI systems
• recommendation engines
• and future shopping assistants
  can rely on higher-quality information.

Reviews and Delivery Are More Important Than Ever

According to the presentation, local market data already shows that:

price is no longer the dominant purchase factor.

Today’s consumers increasingly prioritize:

• product reviews
• delivery speed
• merchant reputation
• and convenience.

This means merchants must focus not only on pricing strategies, but also on:

• customer satisfaction
• logistics
• product descriptions
• imagery
• and after-sales trust.

Poor product data or weak reviews can now negatively impact:

• platform visibility
• customer confidence
• and AI-generated recommendations.

AI Recommendations Are Becoming the New Shopping Layer

Sorin described how AI systems are effectively becoming:

intelligent shopping advisors.

Instead of manually comparing dozens of listings, consumers increasingly expect AI to:

• summarize options
• recommend products
• filter sellers
• and identify the “best value” automatically.

This creates a major shift for merchants and comparison platforms.

Success will increasingly depend on:

• data quality
• visibility across platforms
• strong customer feedback
• and integration into AI ecosystems.

Merchants Must Diversify Their Visibility

One of Sorin’s strongest recommendations was that businesses should:

diversify their revenue and visibility channels.

He warned merchants not to depend only on:

• one marketplace
• one advertising channel
• or one sales platform.

Instead, businesses should:

• expand across marketplaces
• use price comparison platforms
• optimize for AI visibility
• strengthen social commerce presence
• and create multiple customer acquisition channels.

This diversification helps:

• reduce risk
• increase visibility
• and improve resilience in an AI-driven market.

AI Will Reward Merchants With Better Trust Signals

The lecture highlighted that AI systems increasingly prioritize:

• trustworthy merchants
• quality content
• strong reviews
• and reliable delivery performance.

This means businesses investing in:

• customer experience
• transparency
• structured product information
• and service quality
  will likely gain stronger AI visibility in the future.

Key Takeaways

The presentation demonstrated how price comparison platforms are evolving from simple “cheapest product” engines into intelligent recommendation ecosystems driven by AI, trust, and user behavior.

Sorin explained that consumers no longer make decisions based only on price. Instead, they increasingly evaluate:

• reviews
• delivery
• trust
• convenience
• merchant reputation
• and overall value.

The session highlighted how AI assistants such as ChatGPT, Gemini, Claude, and Grok are changing product discovery by helping users compare products, summarize information, and identify smarter purchase options.

The lecture also showed that:

• AI shopping recommendations depend heavily on structured data
• verified reviews and merchant trust are becoming critical assets
• and high-quality product information is increasingly important for visibility.

Another major takeaway was that modern consumers suffer from “decision fatigue” due to the overwhelming number of products and offers available online. As a result, platforms and AI tools that simplify decisions and deliver trusted recommendations will become increasingly valuable.

Sorin also emphasized that businesses should:

• diversify sales channels
• avoid dependence on a single marketplace
• and strengthen their visibility across platforms and AI ecosystems.

Finally, the presentation concluded that the future of eCommerce will increasingly move from:

“What is the cheapest option?”

to:

“What is the smartest choice?”