A fully automated parapharmacy in Lisbon is changing the way customers shop for health and wellness products by combining artificial intelligence, cameras and sensors to eliminate checkout counters and in-store staff.

Located in the Parque das Nações district, the store operates without cashiers or pharmacists on-site during normal business hours. Staff only enter the premises to restock shelves, while customers complete their purchases independently.

The concept was developed to allow pharmacists to spend more time on clinical care instead of retail operations, according to Catarina Dias, the pharmacist who manages Pharma&Go.

“We are investing in solutions that allow pharmacists and the professionals we have to focus on the clinical side while reducing the time spent on commercial tasks,” Dias said.

The shop stocks products that customers can purchase without a prescription, including skincare products, baby care items, supplements and oral hygiene products. Prescription medicines and over-the-counter drugs are not currently available.

Customers begin their visit by tapping a credit or debit card at the entrance. Once the payment method is verified, the door unlocks and shoppers can enter the store. The card used at the entrance is linked to everyone entering at the same time, and all selected products are automatically charged to that payment method when customers leave.

“There are no tills, no queues and no complications,” Dias said, explaining that customers simply enter, choose their products and walk out.

The system relies on hundreds of cameras and sensors working alongside artificial intelligence software that monitors customers and tracks products as they move through the store. The technology identifies which items have been removed from the shelves and automatically completes the purchase when the customer exits.

Dias said the automated system gives shoppers greater flexibility by allowing them to spend as much or as little time in the store as they choose. Some customers complete their shopping in less than a minute, while others take longer to compare products and read ingredient labels.

Since opening in November, the store has seen customer numbers increase every month as more people become familiar with the technology.

According to Dias, the system records an error rate of less than 2%, with most mistakes resulting from customer behaviour rather than technical failures.

She recalled one incident in which a customer politely held the door open for another shopper entering behind him. Because the system associated everyone entering together with the same payment card, both customers’ purchases were charged to the first visitor.

Although the concept was initially expected to appeal mainly to younger consumers, Dias said older customers have also embraced the technology. She noted that many shoppers in their seventies and eighties have found the process straightforward, helped by the store’s accessible design and simple payment system.

The 90-square-metre shop was developed through a partnership between Sensei and Glintt Life using private funding. Dias said an application for public funding under Portugal’s Recovery and Resilience Plan was unsuccessful because the project was not considered sufficiently innovative.

Despite that setback, she believes automated retail technology has significant potential and expects the concept to continue expanding in the future.

More than 100 international organisations have called on governments to hold artificial intelligence companies directly responsible for protecting children online, warning that existing regulatory approaches are failing to prevent harm.

The appeal, led by the children’s rights organisation 5Rights Foundation and supported by groups including Amnesty International and Save the Children, was issued ahead of the United Nations’ first Global Dialogue on AI Governance. The coalition argues that governments should require technology companies to prove their AI systems are safe for children before they are made publicly available.

The organisations said artificial intelligence is already affecting children in harmful ways and that current regulations often respond only after damage has occurred.

Leanda Barrington-Leach, executive director of the 5Rights Foundation, said children are not opposed to technological progress but want stronger safeguards in place before products reach the market.

“They aren’t asking us to block AI innovation, but it shouldn’t be a case of cleaning up the mess after harm has happened either,” she said.

The statement comes as legal challenges involving AI companies continue to grow. Firms including Character Technologies and OpenAI have faced lawsuits over allegations that AI-powered chatbots, particularly “companion” bots designed to simulate emotional relationships, can negatively affect children. Some claims also argue that these products have been presented as suitable for younger users without sufficient warnings about potential risks.

The coalition believes governments should focus on the commercial incentives that encourage companies to prioritise rapid product development and user engagement over safety.

Among the recommendations are mandatory safety assessments before AI products are released, financial penalties for companies whose systems violate children’s rights, bans on design features that exploit children’s psychological vulnerabilities, and restrictions on the commercial use of children’s images, voices and biometric data.

The organisations maintain that governments do not need entirely new legislation to introduce these protections. Instead, they argue that countries should enforce commitments already made under international agreements, including the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child and the Global Digital Compact, which outlines principles for protecting human rights in the digital environment.

Barrington-Leach said stronger accountability is needed to change how AI products are developed and marketed.

“As long as companies are rewarded for speed, engagement and data extraction rather than safety, we’ll keep treating the symptoms while the disease becomes endemic,” she said. She added that respecting children’s rights should become a fundamental requirement for technology companies rather than a voluntary commitment.

The United Nations’ inaugural Global Dialogue on AI Governance is expected to bring together government representatives, technology companies, researchers and civil society organisations to discuss international standards for artificial intelligence. Child safety is likely to be one of the key topics as policymakers seek to balance technological innovation with stronger protections for vulnerable users.