August 8, 2025
PBS recently interviewed Jay Zagorsky, Clinical Associate Professor of Markets, Public Policy, and Law discussing how AI-driven custom prices are affecting consumers.
Delta is using AI to help set some airfare prices, sparking concerns that airlines could one day charge personalized fares based on individual willingness to pay. Delta says its AI only adjusts prices in response to market forces, currently for about 3% of fares and expanding to 20% by year’s end. Experts warn, however, that AI-driven custom pricing may soon become common across industries, often without consumers knowing when it’s being used.
“How do you defeat AI? Well, AI runs on data. The less data you give AI, the worse its prediction,” Zagorsky adds.
As AI takes on a bigger role in pricing, experts stress the importance of consumer awareness and data privacy in shaping how fair, or unfair, the future marketplace will be.