From Search to Purchase: Pharmacy Chain Turns AI Into a Medication Navigator
Apteka.ru has launched an AI assistant built on Yandex AI Studio that helps users find over-the-counter medications by name, brand or symptom description.
Millions of customers now have a new, convenient way to search the pharmacy catalog, while for Russia's IT industry, the service provides a real-world example of generative AI being deployed in a mass-market digital service.
Searching for medication online is rarely quick or easy. When people look for a particular drug, they may not know its exact name. Sometimes they remember only the brand, or they may know only which painful symptoms it is intended to relieve. In such cases, they can describe what they need in a few words in the search bar. For example, they may want to relieve a headache or reduce a fever.
That is the use case targeted by the new AI assistant in Apteka.ru, an online service for finding and ordering pharmacy products. Users can ask a question in natural language, and the system selects suitable products from the catalog. It then provides information about the medications, explains the differences between them, shows prices and provides a link to place an order. The user only needs to choose the product they want.
A New Approach to Search
Previously, customers had to know exactly what they were looking for and sort through the search results themselves. Now, a digital assistant stands between the user and the catalog, helping them navigate dozens of similar options and find the medication they need more quickly.
It is important to emphasize that the AI assistant is not designed to replace a doctor. It does not diagnose conditions or prescribe treatment, and it does not handle prescription medications. When a situation requires medical advice, it recommends avoiding self-treatment and consulting a healthcare professional.
The service is built on the Yandex AI Studio platform. Different use cases rely on YandexGPT and open models from the platform's catalog, while the knowledge base is built using Vector Store. It contains about 100,000 products with detailed descriptions and more than 6,000 Apteka.ru articles, and the database is continuously updated. Experienced pharmacists evaluated the quality of the assistant's answers during testing. To keep pricing and product availability current, the AI assistant also connects directly to Apteka.ru systems, which are updated in real time.
For users, the technology behind the service remains largely invisible. The practical benefit, however, is clear: it reduces the time needed to find a product. This is particularly useful when an online service offers a large catalog. The more products it carries, the harder it can be for people without specialized knowledge to navigate the options. The AI takes on that initial navigation, organizing information and helping users compare alternatives.
The service is already available to the entire Apteka.ru website audience, which numbers about 12 million users. It is planned to launch in the mobile app in October 2026.
Business Benefits
During testing, the developers obtained notable results. Users who read the AI assistant's recommendations purchased an average of 25% more products than those who ignored them. The likelihood that such a visitor would ultimately place an order increased by 77%. In other words, the more actively people interact with the assistant, the more often they complete a purchase.
For businesses, this means generative AI can serve not only as an additional interface but also as a practical e-commerce tool. It makes it easier for customers to find suitable products, compare them with alternatives and make a choice. In effect, the digital assistant influences the entire customer journey – from the initial query through checkout and payment.
The Apteka.ru Case
For Russia's technology sector, projects like this are significant because of their practical application. Generative AI has become part of a mass-market product used by millions of people every day. In Apteka.ru's case, the technology is being deployed in a field where up-to-date information, clear answers and quality control are especially important. The service addresses those requirements through its own database of products and articles, pharmacist review of responses and direct access to current data while each answer is being generated. The same approach could eventually be extended to other areas of e-commerce.
