Artificial intelligence, automation, changes in what customers have come to expect – the filling station sector is in a state of flux. And that means that the requirements that operators need to meet are changing too. So where is the industry actually heading? The focus was on this question and others at this year’s Čerpačka Congress, in which eurodata also took part.

For a long time now, filling stations have been more than just places where you can go and fill your tank. Extra services, catering facilities and the whole customer experience are getting more and more important. At the same time, the demands made on operational efficiency, cost control and the ability to react swiftly to changes on the market are also increasing.

The 2026 Čerpačka Congress, which once again brought together representatives of the petroleum trade in Prague on 24 September, devoted itself to these very challenges.

One of the central topics at this year’s event was artificial intelligence and how to deploy it in practical terms. Today, new technologies are opening up a whole range of possibilities – not only in customer communication, but also in the automation of administrative processes, information processing and operational control.

Having said that, technologies are only as good as the data they work with.

And that’s precisely where we see great potential for further development. After all, digitalisation doesn’t just mean introducing new tools. The crucial question is far rather how the data obtained can be turned into clearly organised, meaningful information which enables informed decisions to be made in day-to-day business.

At eurodata, we’ve been occupying ourselves with just that topic for many years. With our system AnalýzaOnline, we help filling station networks to keep a watchful eye on their economic efficiency and obtain a uniform, comparable overview of the financial results at the various individual points of sale.

Again, this year’s congress has shown that the future of filling stations doesn’t merely depend on what new technologies are introduced; it depends above all on how meaningfully and effectively we deploy them.