February 2026 - New Feature: Receipt Validation with AI

New at Cool Tabs! We’ve just added a new feature to the platform that will change the way you manage your purchase-linked promotions: Receipt Validation with AI.

If you’ve ever run a campaign where participants had to prove a purchase, you know what it’s like to review receipts. With this new feature, that manual work is a thing of the past. Artificial intelligence now reads, interprets, and automatically verifies each receipt in real time.

Below, we’ll explain what it is, what benefits it offers, and how you can start using it.

What is AI-based receipt validation?

It’s a new feature integrated into Cool Tabs that allows participants in your campaigns to upload a photo of their purchase receipt so the platform can automatically analyze it using artificial intelligence.

The AI can identify information on the receipt such as the store name, purchase date, total amount, and purchased products. From there, it checks if those details meet the rules you’ve set for your promotion. If everything matches, the entry is instantly approved. If not, the user receives a notification with the reason and can try again.

What is it for?

This feature is designed for any campaign where you need to link participation to a real purchase. 

Here are some scenarios where it fits perfectly:

• Baby food brand launching a new product. A brand releases a new baby food and wants to ensure that those entering their promotion have actually purchased it. Customers only need to upload a photo of the receipt showing the product. The AI checks it and, if everything is correct, they are entered into a monthly prize draw. In addition to rewarding real buyers, the brand discovers which stores are selling the product.

• Restaurant franchise aiming to increase average ticket size. A burger chain notices many customers stick to the basic menu. To encourage higher spending, they launch a campaign: anyone who spends more than €15 at any location and uploads their receipt enters a weekly draw. The AI checks that the receipt is from one of their restaurants and that it exceeds the required amount.

• Appliance brand during Black Friday. During Black Friday week, a brand offers an exclusive discount to those who purchase their products. The AI verifies that the purchase was made within the promotional period and that a product from the brand appears on the receipt.

• Shopping mall boosting visits during the off-season. January and February are slow months for any shopping mall. To drive traffic, they launch a campaign: any customer who spends more than €30 at a store in the mall during those weeks can upload their receipt and access a prize wheel with instant discounts. The AI validates that the store is part of the mall, that the amount meets the minimum, and that the date is within the campaign period. 

Main benefits

• Time saving. Forget about manually reviewing receipts. The AI handles verification automatically and in real time, allowing you to manage campaigns with a large number of participants effortlessly.

• Fraud reduction. By automatically analyzing the receipt data against the configured rules, attempts to participate with receipts that do not meet the promotion’s requirements are minimized.

• Better user experience. Participants receive an immediate response. If their receipt is valid, they participate instantly. If not, they know exactly what went wrong and can try again with another receipt.

• Total flexibility in rules. You can combine multiple validation conditions (amount, store, address, date, product) and tailor them to the specific needs of each campaign. You can even use regular expressions to accommodate the various ways a store or product name may appear on a receipt.

• Customizable messages. You control the messages the user sees at each step of the process: when uploading the receipt, while it is being processed, if it’s invalid, or if they run out of attempts. This allows you to maintain your brand’s tone throughout the experience.

• Manual review as a safety net. If a participant uses up their opportunities or there is a questionable case, the receipt can be sent for manual review, always giving you the final say.

   

How does it work?

The process is simple for both you and the participant.

From the participant’s side, the experience is very smooth: 

1. The participant accesses your campaign and uploads a photo of their purchase receipt.

2. The AI analyzes the image, extracts the receipt data, and automatically structures it.

3. The system applies the validation rules you have set (minimum amount, specific product, date, store, etc.).

4. If the receipt meets the conditions, the entry is automatically approved and, if you’ve set it up, the user receives their reward (entry into a drawing, coupon, instant prize, spin of the prize wheel, etc.).

5. Receipts that fail fraud checks are automatically rejected. Those that do not meet the promotion’s conditions are sent for manual review.

From your side as the administrator, configuration is done from the campaign editor, under Participations > Restrictions > Purchase receipt validation with AI. There, you activate the feature, define the validation rules you need (amount, store, address, date, product), set the maximum number of attempts, and customize the messages the user will see in each situation.

Once the campaign is launched, the AI works autonomousl,y and you can track everything from the participation panel.

Cost and trial credits

AI-based receipt validation has a pay-per-use cost, meaning each validation processed by the AI consumes one credit.

To let you explore the feature and see how it fits your campaigns, your Cool Tabs account includes 50 free credits. This allows you to run real tests, adjust rules, and verify everything works before launching your promotion.

If you need more credits or want to add this feature to your plan, contact our team at help@cool-tabs.com and we’ll inform you of the available options.

If you’re ready to get started, we’ve prepared a detailed tutorial that explains step by step how to create and configure your campaign with AI-based receipt validation: How to set up AI-based purchase receipt validation.