PrestaShop 9.1 – New AI Features and Store Migration Cost

A Growing Store – Is 9.1 and AI the Right Combination for You?

Why Now?

More than 250,000 stores worldwide are already running on 9.0+ code. PrestaShop 9.1 launched as a beta on January 7, 2026, and the stable release is expected in early March. It’s a good moment to ask an important question: does this version actually change anything significant for my business?

The situation with AI looks like this: you won’t get a built-in robot inside the 9.1 core that automates everything for you. “With AI” here means an ecosystem — MCP support, assistants inside modules, and external tools you can connect. That’s an important distinction to understand before making a decision.

In this article we’ll go through three key areas. First, what is actually new: Hummingbird 2.0, a new approach to shipping, and redesigned discounts. Then we’ll look at how AI can realistically work in PrestaShop (without the marketing hype). Finally, you’ll see how much migration costs in Poland and whether it’s worth doing now.

The technical context is straightforward: Symfony 6.4 under the hood, compatibility with PHP 8.1 to 8.4, improved security, and better scalability. It’s a more stable foundation than before, especially if you’re planning future growth.

What PrestaShop 9.1 Really Brings: Hummingbird 2.0, Shipping, Discounts

PrestaShop 9.1 focuses on three main directions: a modern frontend, flexible shipping, and improved discount management. Most changes have landed in the beta release, so for production it’s still safer to stay on 9.0.3 for now.

Hummingbird 2.0: Accessibility and a Modern Frontend

The theme has moved to Bootstrap 5, bringing features like native dark mode and more than 95% compliance with the European Accessibility Act. jQuery is essentially disappearing (deprecated), replaced with SCSS and TypeScript. For developers, an important change: selectors are now based on “data-ps-*” instead of old CSS classes. The Bootstrap 4 → 5 shift also requires theme adjustments, for example .no-gutters is now .g-0. Backward compatibility with 9.0 is preserved, but layout details may require manual review.

Shipping and Discounts Behind Feature Flags: What Changes?

The new “multi-carrier shipment system” allows splitting or merging orders between carriers. The logic works per shipment rather than per entire order. The feature is hidden behind a feature flag and must be enabled in advanced settings.

Discounts have received a redesigned UI and architecture. You can now control priorities, validity dates, conditions based on product attributes or countries, and also configure free shipping or gifts. This functionality is also hidden behind a feature flag and disabled by default.

Technical requirements include PHP 8.1 to 8.4, Composer 2, and Node 20 with NPM 10. The version labeled “9.1.0-beta.1” contains around 665 commits of changes, so the stable release may still take some time.

AI in Practice: MCP, Assistants, and Modules Instead of “Magic in the Core”

To be clear: PrestaShop 9.1 does not include built-in AI in the core. None. When people say it comes “with AI,” they mean the ecosystem of tools and protocols that can be connected.

Model Context Protocol: A Bridge Between Your Store and LLMs

Announced in November 2025 at the Developer Conference. MCP is a server that exposes your store’s business logic (product search, order updates, inventory data) directly to language models like GPT or Claude. The protocol is secured but requires PrestaShop 8.2+ or 9+. In practice: you ask an assistant a question, it queries the real store through MCP and returns the data. No need to export CSV files or manually copy product IDs.

Assistants and Modules: Where AI Actually Helps

This is where things become interesting. GitHub Copilot, Claude, and ChatGPT can generate modules, perform refactoring, write tests, and produce documentation. I’ve seen migrations from 8.x to 9.x completed with Copilot assistance in two days instead of a full week.

AI modules available in marketplaces (Knowband, Webkul) usually include:

product description and translation generators
product recommendations based on customer behavior
inventory predictions and price optimization
customer support chatbots

The risks? Content quality can be inconsistent, API costs grow with usage, and sensitive data could leak. But productivity gains are real.

PrestaShop collaborates with PayPal (payment agents) and supports OpenAI, Anthropic, and Mistral via MCP. The direction is clear: “AI productivity,” not built-in AI magic. It’s an optional booster, not a requirement.

Should You Migrate Now: Decision Criteria and Risks

A migration decision is not just about technology — it’s primarily about business. Before investing time and money, it’s worth honestly asking what you will actually gain.

When Does 9.x Make Business Sense?

Migration really makes sense if:

Your store regularly struggles under load (slow performance, long page load times)
You plan to expand features that require a newer PHP version
Your themes and modules are already compatible with Symfony 6.4
You need complex discount structures or multi-carrier shipping
You are using an older PrestaShop version that is nearing end of support

Hummingbird 2.0, PHP 8.4, and the flexibility of open source versus SaaS platforms (for example Shoper, which costs around 6,000 PLN per year in subscriptions). For larger stores, this is a strong argument for better TCO and code control.

When Is It Better to Wait?

The situation is simpler here. If:

Your store works reliably and you are not planning major changes
You use heavily customized themes or unusual modules (upgrading 8.2 → 9 can be, to put it mildly, frustrating — forum threads are full of examples)
You don’t have the budget or time for testing and fixes

…then staying on 9.0.3 until the stable release is perfectly reasonable. “9.1.0-beta.1” is a label that speaks for itself. Running a beta in production is a risk most businesses simply don’t need.

In Poland there is another aspect — the lack of subscriptions in OSS is an advantage, but only if you actually take advantage of it. Otherwise, you just pay for hosting while running an outdated engine.

How Much Does Migration to 9.1 Cost in Poland: Specific Ranges and Examples

Let’s move to specifics. Migration costs consist of several elements: the PrestaShop data migration, theme adjustments, module compatibility updates, and testing. Additionally, there may be hosting for PrestaShop and ongoing maintenance.

Price Ranges and Cost Components

The official PrestaShop team starts migrations at around €1,200 net. Polish agencies typically charge about 7,200 PLN for upgrading from PrestaShop to 9.x, and around 9,600 PLN if migrating from another platform (WooCommerce, Magento) to PrestaShop 9. If you only need data transfer without customization, offers start from roughly 2,400 PLN.

Hourly rates usually range around 200 PLN per hour. A typical project takes between 10 and 40 hours depending on the number of products, how heavily customized the theme is, and what integrations must be adapted. The more custom code involved, the more regression testing is required.

Migration modules (optional) cost about €70–€170. The popular MigrationPro costs €169, but simpler stores can often rely on cheaper tools or manual migration.

Monthly maintenance after migration ranges from about 1,200 PLN (hosting plus basic support) up to 9,600 PLN if you require active development and full technical support.

Example Budgets (Net PLN)

To make it clearer, here are two scenarios:

Small store (10k SKUs, simple theme, several basic modules): 10,000–15,000 PLN. This typically includes data migration, testing, and launch.
Complex store (custom theme, multiple ERP/warehouse/payment integrations, extensive custom code): 20,000–40,000 PLN. A large part of the time is spent rewriting old hacks and adapting everything to the new version.

Remember that costs increase when migrating from another CMS (because the data structure must be adapted) or when the store has dozens of modules to test. Regression testing alone can consume half the budget, so it’s better to plan for it from the start.

Migration Plan Without Downtime: Compatibility, Testing, SEO

Before clicking “Update,” you need a plan that won’t turn your store into a construction site for several days. First the basics: PrestaShop 9.1 requires PHP 8.1 (preferably 8.4), Composer 2, and Node 20 with NPM 10. No shortcuts. And of course a full backup — ideally several — plus a complete staging environment where everything can be tested before customers see anything.

Staging and Compatibility: Before You Click “Update”

A staging environment is not optional — it’s essential. Clone production, perform the upgrade there, and see what breaks. Bootstrap 5 in the new theme means older CSS classes like .no-gutters must be replaced with .g-0, and .ml-3 becomes .ms-3. Check all custom modules and review the list of changed hooks in the 9.1 documentation (for example actionModuleEnable, actionConfigurationUpdateValueBefore). Every second inactive module can potentially block the migration.

Testing, CLI, and SEO: Closing the Risk

Feature flags are your friend. The new shipping system? Enable it on staging first, test for a week, then activate it in production. CLI commands like thumbnails:regenerate or search:index can be executed after migration to refresh everything without manual work. And SEO: verify that the URL structure remains intact and prepare 301 redirects where necessary. Test Core Web Vitals (Google PageSpeed) and check EAA accessibility compliance in Hummingbird 2.0 (should be above 95%). The checklist is long, but ticking off tasks is far better than putting out fires later.

A Decision That Pays Off – Flexibility Instead of Subscriptions

Migrating to PrestaShop 9.1 is not just about technology. It’s primarily about choosing a collaboration model that fits your business. Subscriptions sound convenient because they create the illusion of predictability, but in practice they often mean paying for features you no longer need. Flexible pricing allows costs to scale together with your store’s growth, without hidden commitments.

For a modernization like this, it’s worth choosing cooperation without long-term contracts. You pay for specific outcomes: data migration, AI configuration, theme adjustments. Afterwards, you decide if and when you need further support. This approach works especially well for mid-sized stores where the budget must remain under control.

Ultimately, the best decision is the one you can reconsider at any time — without being locked into months of commitments in advance.

PrestaShop 9.1 with AI – is it worth it and how much does migration cost?

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