<description>&lt;p&gt;This month, the think-tank the Groundwork Collaborative, Consumer Reports and the news nonprofit More Perfect Union released a report finding that Instacart had been using an AI tool to run algorithmic price experiments on shoppers around the country. As a result, shoppers were being charged different prices for the exact same items from the exact same stores.&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;At a time when inflation has driven grocery costs higher, the revelation that Instacart was charging some consumers more for the same goods struck a chord.&lt;strong&gt; &lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;On today&amp;rsquo;s Big Take podcast, host Sarah Holder speaks with Bloomberg&amp;rsquo;s antitrust reporter Leah Nylen and the Groundwork Collaborative executive director Lindsay Owens about the report&amp;rsquo;s findings and impact &amp;mdash; and Instacart&amp;rsquo;s decision to end their experiment.&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;Read more: &lt;a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2025-12-18/instacart-to-pay-60-million-in-ftc-consumer-protection-case?srnd=undefined"&gt;Instacart to Pay $60 Million to Settle FTC Consumer Protection Case&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Hosted by:&lt;/strong&gt; Sarah Holder; &lt;strong&gt;Produced by: &lt;/strong&gt;Rachael Lewis-Krisky; &lt;strong&gt;Reported by:&lt;/strong&gt; Leah Nylen; &lt;strong&gt;Edited by:&lt;/strong&gt; Naomi Shavin and Aaron Edwards; &lt;strong&gt;Fact-checking by: &lt;/strong&gt;Julia Press; &lt;strong&gt;Engineering by: &lt;/strong&gt;Katie McMurran.&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Senior Producer:&lt;/strong&gt; Naomi Shavin. &lt;strong&gt;Deputy Executive Producer: &lt;/strong&gt;Julia Weaver. &lt;strong&gt;Executive Producer:&lt;/strong&gt; Nicole Beemsterboer.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;See &lt;a href="https://omnystudio.com/listener"&gt;omnystudio.com/listener&lt;/a&gt; for privacy information.&lt;/p&gt;</description>

Big Take

Bloomberg and iHeartPodcasts

Why Instacart Backtracked on an AI-Pricing Experiment

DEC 23, 202519 MIN
Big Take

Why Instacart Backtracked on an AI-Pricing Experiment

DEC 23, 202519 MIN

Description

This month, the think-tank the Groundwork Collaborative, Consumer Reports and the news nonprofit More Perfect Union released a report finding that Instacart had been using an AI tool to run algorithmic price experiments on shoppers around the country. As a result, shoppers were being charged different prices for the exact same items from the exact same stores. At a time when inflation has driven grocery costs higher, the revelation that Instacart was charging some consumers more for the same goods struck a chord. On today’s Big Take podcast, host Sarah Holder speaks with Bloomberg’s antitrust reporter Leah Nylen and the Groundwork Collaborative executive director Lindsay Owens about the report’s findings and impact — and Instacart’s decision to end their experiment. Read more: Instacart to Pay $60 Million to Settle FTC Consumer Protection Case Hosted by: Sarah Holder; Produced by: Rachael Lewis-Krisky; Reported by: Leah Nylen; Edited by: Naomi Shavin and Aaron Edwards; Fact-checking by: Julia Press; Engineering by: Katie McMurran. Senior Producer: Naomi Shavin. Deputy Executive Producer: Julia Weaver. Executive Producer: Nicole Beemsterboer.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.