Big Take Why Instacart Backtracked on an AI-Pricing Experiment
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Dec 23, 2025 
Leah Nylen, a Bloomberg antitrust reporter, and Lindsay Owens, Executive Director at Groundwork Collaborative, delve into Instacart's controversial AI-driven pricing experiments. They discuss shocking findings where consumers were charged different prices for identical items, highlighting discrepancies of up to $9.59. The duo explains the motivations behind the investigation and the implications of such pricing strategies. Following public outcry and regulatory scrutiny, Instacart's decision to halt these experiments signals a significant shift in grocery pricing practices.
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Secret Shoppers Revealed Price Gaps
- Volunteers added identical 20-item carts on Instacart and found totals that varied by up to $9.59 between shoppers.
- One shopper paid $2.99 for peanut butter while another paid $3.69 for the same jar at the same store and time.
AI Tools Enable Hidden Price Tests
- Instacart acquired Eversight to run AI-powered pricing tests that can raise or lower prices for different shoppers.
- The problematic part is consumers often have no idea these algorithmic experiments are happening.
Widespread Variable Pricing
- The study found price variation on 75% of items and every secret shopper experienced variable pricing at some point.
- Basket totals differed by an average of about 7%, showing experiments had meaningful consumer impact.