This city just banned grocery stores from using your personal data and AI to set prices — and it's a first in the nation

BusinessMajor US city bans AI grocery pricing in first-in-the-nation lawFILE - A major U.S. city is banning large grocery chains and delivery services from using customers’ personal data and artificial intelligence to set individualized prices. (AP Photo/Erin Hooley, File)AP Photo/Erin HooleyBy Grant Butler | The Oregonian/OregonLiveImagine filling an online grocery cart, only to wonder whether the price of milk or eggs was shaped by where you live, what you searched for or something you told a chatbot. It’s a real consumer worry as grocery prices continue to skyrocket.One U.S. city is trying to take that possibility off the table, banning large grocery chains and delivery services from using customers’ personal data and artificial intelligence to set individualized prices.Seattle’s new Fair and Transparent Pricing ordinance, which supporters call the first law of its kind in the nation, requires food prices to be clearly posted and made available equally to every shopper.The law bars large chains from using information such as a customer’s browsing history, location, employment status, race, gender, social media activity or chatbot conversations to determine what they pay for food.The City Council passed the measure last month, and Mayor Katie Wilson signed it into law Monday. It takes effect Sept. 1, 2027.The measure drew support from labor groups including UFCW 3000 and MLK Labor, as well as consumer organizations including Consumer Reports and TechEquity Action.The grocery industry has warned that the ordinance could lead stores to eliminate discount programs.Seattle is the first U.S. city to enact a broad ban on algorithmic grocery pricing. The move follows state-level action on surveillance pricing in Maryland, Connecticut and New Jersey.Supporters cited recent reports from consumer advocates that found major corporate chains and delivery platforms had built detailed demographic profiles of individual shoppers and used that data to test dynamic pricing.Grant Butler is a managing producer on Advance Local's national trending team focused on retail, restaurant and food news. Grant has been working at for Advance since 1996, in a variety of roles, including long...This article was produced with assistance from AI tools and reviewed by Cleveland.com staff.