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Cost of Living27:47How AI could turn pricing into a moving target

If it feels like the price of everything from flights to juice boxes never stay put — you’re not wrong. And artificial intelligence could make those prices even more slippery. Also, we look at the rewards and risk of credit card churning and why so many people are suddenly talking about digital sovereignty.

Ruby Szpeflicki spends hours each month shopping online, looking for good deals and sharing them with other bargain hunters. 

But the Greenwood, N.S., accounting clerk has been noticing a growing trend of prices shifting on a dime. 

“The prices change daily,” she said. “It drives me nuts. I hate it.” 

This is known in some circles as dynamic pricing, meaning that algorithms are watching your actions online — every time you like a Facebook post, look up a recipe or browse a website looking for a new pair of jeans — and adjusting prices based on your personal information. 

Mark Daley, Western University’s chief AI officer, says pricing based on our online habits has been happening for several years. But the introduction of AI into the mix has the potential to change the way data is gathered, he said, as companies get access to even more personal information about their customers faster and use it to influence pricing. 

The problem is no one knows quite how widespread personalized pricing through the use of AI is, because as David Dunbar, a lawyer formerly with the Competition Bureau, put it, “it’s all being done inside the black box.”

“AI itself is so dynamic, and we’re just discovering what it can do. Even the people who understand it are learning it and becoming better at understanding it and seeing what it can do.”

How does it work? 

When you visit a website, you might get a pop-up that asks you to accept or reject cookies. Cookies track your data — what you click on, what information you type in and what you buy, for example.

Those cookies can be shared with third parties or used by the company itself to learn about you — not just your buying habits, but more personal details, Daley said. 

This data can also be gathered through AI chatbots like ChatGPT, he said. 

“The more you tell it about who you are, the more information you give it about you, the better it can profile you as a customer, and that data is incredibly economically valuable,” Daley said.

“Modern AI can take all of that unstructured information about you and turn it into a single string of numbers that identifies all sorts of things about what you like, who you are and what you believe.”

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In the case of algorithmic pricing, that information is used to figure out the most you as an individual will pay for something, and offer that price to you only, rather than having a set price for everyone.

“You’re not getting a rule that applies to everybody,” Dunbar said. “You’re getting a trillion rules that nobody understands.”

For example, imagine you’re using ChatGPT to research a product you want. The app could extract information from your questions and searches to offer you something to suit your needs, and may even direct you to a seller. ChatGPT could, potentially, give that information to the seller. The seller, knowing you’ve spent time learning about a product because you want it, can price it higher.

If multiple businesses start using AI that can figure out the optimal price to charge an individual for an item, people can no longer shop around for the best price, Dunbar said.

“I’m supposed to be able to go from here to there and compare prices and compare attributes to different products and make my choice.”

Is it legal or regulated? 

Short answer: it’s legal, and it’s not regulated in Canada — not right now, at least. 

In 2025, the Competition Bureau of Canada opened public consultation to learn about concerns around algorithmic pricing and what groups may be most vulnerable to the practice — which is generally consumers, Dunbar said.

On Jan. 8, the bureau told CBC News that the submissions from the consultation will be summarized in a report available in the “coming weeks.”

“At this stage, the consultation is not intended to result in policy recommendations,” a spokesperson said in an email. “However, it will help inform the bureau’s future work and priorities.”

Does this only happen online? 

Jean-Pierre Dubé, a professor of marketing at the University of Chicago, said personalized pricing has long existed outside online spaces. For example, people pay car dealerships different prices for cars all the time. 

“When you go into a car dealership, the first thing they’ll say is ‘Where are you coming in from today?’ And you tell them where you’re coming in from. I now know where you live. I know something about your neighbourhood,” he said.

“That’s not friendliness. They are collecting data.”

Grocery stores have been changing prices for years depending on supply and demand.

And now, some stores are using electronic shelf labels, making it quicker and easier to change the prices on items. Some U.S. politicians have raised concerns they could eventually lead to dynamic pricing in stores — although one of the authors of a UC San Diego study said they saw no meaningful price jumps after the installation of such labels.

And while what’s happening in stores is more about what people can observe, our online behaviours are being monitored by algorithms looking for details about what articles we read, what kinds of videos we watch, which apps we use and when, how, for how long and more. All that information is collected and can be analyzed to figure out the best way to sell us certain items.

Can I shop without algorithms monitoring me?

You can clear your online cache of history and cookies and block your location, as the U.S. Federal Trade Commission has found that’s where algorithms get a lot of information. 

If you’re worried about AI getting involved, be mindful of what you’re sharing with any AI programs.

If all else fails, shopping in-store, paying with cash and not using loyalty cards that collect data on what you buy means companies can’t track your habits. 

“It’s up to us collectively as Canadians now to decide what strength of privacy do we want and how much innovation are we willing to forego to ensure that we have privacy,” Daley said.