European Commission’s 2022 Platform Foresight Study Put Design and Policy in Focus

The European Commission’s 2022 procurement for a participatory foresight study on next-generation online platforms placed platform design and consumer behaviour within a wider policy question: how could the platform economy evolve, and what might those changes mean for European Union policymaking? The work was not a narrow experiment on marketplace user experience. Instead, it was a two-year exercise intended to identify long-term trends across online platforms and assess their policy implications. The Commission published the call, reference CNECT/2022/OP/0049, in August 2022. Its official announcement of the foresight study on the future of online platforms lists a submission deadline of 22 September 2022 at 16:00 CEST. That makes the procurement a completed historical call, rather than a current tender opportunity. The framing remains relevant because interface design, recommendation systems and other platform choices can influence what people notice, compare and select online. But the Commission’s stated objective was broader than any one marketplace design question. It sought a structured view of the platform economy’s possible future trajectories and the public-policy issues those trajectories could raise. What the 2022 study was designed to examine The Commission described the project as a two-year participatory foresight study. Participatory foresight brings relevant groups into a structured exploration of future developments rather than attempting to predict one fixed outcome. In this case, the study was designed to identify ten topics in collaboration with Commission services, then examine long-term trends and their potential policy relevance. Design’s influence on consumer behaviour was part of the broader theme, not the full scope of the procurement. That distinction matters. A study focused solely on a marketplace interface might measure how a particular ranking, default or layout affects a defined consumer decision. The Commission’s foresight work instead addressed the wider future of online platforms and the policy context surrounding them. Aspect Official procurement scope Why it matters Format Two-year participatory foresight study The objective was to explore long-term developments, not conduct a single behavioural test. Topics Ten topics to be identified with Commission services The final agenda was intended to cover multiple dimensions of the platform economy. Consumer behaviour Part of the broader consideration of platforms and design Design effects were considered alongside wider trends and policy implications. Procurement timing Published in August 2022, with a 22 September 2022 deadline The call is historical and should not be treated as an open tender. External contractors were engaged to carry out the work, notably PPMI and partners including TNO. Related privacy documentation and closing-event materials show that the project moved beyond the procurement stage into execution. The supplied materials do not establish a single regulatory outcome or a new rule directly resulting from the study, so it would be inaccurate to portray it as a standalone EU intervention on marketplace UX. Why platform design belongs in a policy discussion Online platforms do not operate as neutral catalogues. Product ordering, search presentation, recommendation logic, disclosure placement and default settings can all shape the choices users encounter. In marketplaces, those choices may affect the visibility of sellers and products as well as the information available before a consumer acts. For policymakers, the relevant issue is not simply whether a design is effective. It is how platform design interacts with consumer interests, market dynamics and the wider digital economy over time. A foresight approach is useful precisely because platform capabilities and business models can change faster than a static snapshot of a single service. The study’s scope also makes clear why algorithmic ranking and AI-assisted experiences need careful interpretation. They are plausible areas of relevance when considering the future of platforms, but the 2022 call did not itself announce specific requirements for AI marketplaces or prescribe particular ranking systems. Its contribution was to inform future policy thinking through analysis of trends and implications. What businesses and platform teams can take from it The historical tender is still a useful signal of the questions that can matter to organisations operating digital platforms. Teams responsible for marketplaces, commerce products and consumer-facing AI features should be able to explain how their product choices affect the information, options and pathways users see. Three practical considerations follow from the Commission’s broad framing: Design governance: Product, legal and policy teams need a shared understanding of consequential interface and ranking decisions. Traceable decision-making: Organisations benefit from documenting the purpose of major design choices and the user outcomes they are intended to support. Long-term planning: Platform strategy should account for changing technology and policy expectations, rather than treating consumer-facing design as an isolated conversion exercise. These are governance and planning considerations, not obligations created by the 2022 procurement. The key lesson is that platform design can become strategically important beyond the immediate product metric it is intended to improve. For businesses building AI-enabled marketplace or platform experiences, this context strengthens the case for connecting product decisions to governance early. Scalevise helps organisations assess AI strategy, architecture and implementation priorities so teams can make better-informed choices as technology and policy expectations evolve. A focused AI consultancy conversation with Scalevise can identify where design, automation and oversight need to align. Request a consultation to discuss your AI platform priorities. Frequently Asked Questions What was the European Commission’s 2022 online platforms call for tenders? It was a procurement, reference CNECT/2022/OP/0049, for a two-year participatory foresight study on the future of next-generation online platforms and their policy implications. Did the call focus only on online marketplace design and consumer behaviour? No. Platform design and consumer behaviour formed part of the broader theme, but the official scope covered multiple long-term trends in the platform economy. When did the tender close? The European Commission’s official announcement states that the submission deadline was 22 September 2022 at 16:00 CEST. Who carried out the foresight work? External contractors were engaged, notably PPMI and partners including TNO, according to the verified research and related project documentation. Did the study introduce new EU rules for AI-assisted marketplaces? No. The call commissioned a foresight exercise to inform policy thinking. The supplied research does not show that it introduced specific rules for AI-assisted marketplaces. Conclusion The Commission’s 2022 study was a broad effort to understand how online platforms may develop and where policy questions could emerge. Its inclusion of design and consumer behaviour underscores that marketplace interfaces and ranking systems can have consequences beyond immediate user experience. The completed procurement did not create a new marketplace rulebook, but it remains useful context for platform businesses planning consumer-facing and AI-enabled services.