AI platforms are now advising shoppers on how to push back after a report showed that grocery apps charged different customers varying prices for identical items.
Instacart, a major grocery delivery app, has been under scrutiny following a joint investigation by More Perfect Union, Consumer Reports, and Groundwork Collaborative. The probe found that AI-driven “segment pricing” could cause prices for the same item at the same store to vary by as much as 23%, with total baskets differing by up to $10.
The practice affects chains including Target, Kroger, Safeway, Albertsons, and Costco.
The company, which acquired Eversight in 2022, uses tools like “Smart Rounding,” a machine-learning system designed to flex prices to boost sales and profit margins. Instacart representatives reportedly said the pricing tests do not rely on personal data, though some sources who spoke to More Perfect Union warned it could evolve into more invasive “surveillance pricing” as retailers integrate electronic shelf labels.
Grok, an AI research platform, explained to The Dallas Express that shoppers can reduce exposure by buying in person, comparing prices across platforms, clearing cookies, using incognito mode or a VPN, and planning bulk purchases.
“Shop in Person Instead of Using Delivery Apps…This eliminates the markup (often 10-20% higher on apps) and any algorithmic variations,” Grok recommended.
Perplexity, another AI tool, echoed these strategies and added that avoiding unnecessary browsing, checking multiple delivery options, and using unit-price calculators could help. Consumers should favor items that showed no variance in tests and remain skeptical of premium packaged goods, the platform said.
ChatGPT recommended a combination of personal mitigation, advocacy, and data collection. Suggestions included filing complaints with regulators, demanding disclosure from retailers, coordinating with friends or local groups to compare prices, and lobbying for legislation against algorithmic pricing on essentials.
Consumer advocates have already begun pressing Congress for action.
Lawmakers, including Sen. Ruben Gallego (D-AZ), have introduced legislation to ban such pricing practices. “Greedy corporations are compiling Americans’ personal data and using AI to find their ‘pain point’—the maximum they’re willing to pay. That’s not fair pricing, that’s predatory pricing. My bill puts an end to it,” Gallego said, per the New York Post.
Rep. Jimmy Gomez (D-CA) reportedly said after meeting with advocates, “If Instacart’s AI pricing is quietly, unfairly and/or deceptively making some people pay more for the same groceries, that’s a big problem.” Democratic lawmakers told the New York Post they were exploring legislative and oversight measures, though any action would require Republican support in the GOP-controlled House and Senate.
Experts warn that if left unchecked, AI-driven pricing could quietly inflate costs across essential markets. Former Federal Trade Commission Chair Lina Khan described the potential for algorithmic pricing to become “another big form of wealth transfer from ordinary Americans to massive corporations” in an interview with More Perfect Union.
