The U.S. Federal Trade Commission has launched an investigation into Instacart as the grocery delivery platform faces scrutiny over its artificial intelligence-driven pricing software, according to sources familiar with the matter who spoke to Reuters.
The probe comes amid growing concerns over digital pricing practices, consumer protection, and the broader role of AI in commerce, sending Instacart shares down about 10% in after-hours trading.
The FTC has issued a civil investigative demand to Instacart seeking documents and information related to its Eversight pricing tool, which allows grocery retailers to experiment with prices using AI. Eversight’s algorithmic testing adjusts prices across categories to gauge shopper responsiveness and optimize revenue, a practice that has drawn criticism after a recent study revealed inconsistent pricing across identical items.
Register for Tekedia Mini-MBA edition 19 (Feb 9 – May 2, 2026): big discounts for early bird.
Tekedia AI in Business Masterclass opens registrations.
Join Tekedia Capital Syndicate and co-invest in great global startups.
Register for Tekedia AI Lab: From Technical Design to Deployment (next edition begins Jan 24 2026).
The nonprofit-led study, conducted by Groundwork Collaborative, Consumer Reports, and More Perfect Union, tracked 437 shoppers across four U.S. cities. It found that the total cost of the same grocery list at the same store differed by an average of 7% between shoppers, with some users seeing prices as much as 23% higher than others for identical items purchased at the same time.
“The FTC has a longstanding policy of not commenting on potential or ongoing investigations,” the agency said. “But, like so many Americans, we are disturbed by what we have read in the press about Instacart’s alleged pricing practices.”
While the opening of a probe does not imply wrongdoing, it highlights the growing political and regulatory pressure around digital pricing. Rising grocery costs have become a major economic concern in the U.S., shaping state and local elections last November and creating challenges for the Republican Party and President Donald Trump. Regulators are increasingly sensitive to technology-driven practices that may exacerbate affordability issues.
Instacart has defended its pricing practices, emphasizing that Eversight tests are randomized and not based on individual shopper behavior, purchase history, or location. The company also stressed that, except for Target, retailers themselves set prices on the platform. Target prices displayed on Instacart are scraped from publicly available data and marked up to cover costs, according to a Target spokesperson.
Lawmakers have voiced concern about transparency. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer wrote to the FTC, calling for prominent on-screen labels whenever shoppers are included in pricing experiments.
“Consumers deserve to know when they are being placed into pricing tests,” Schumer said.
The Instacart probe is part of a broader crackdown by the FTC under Chair Lina Khan on AI and data-driven pricing tools. Last year, the agency requested information from Mastercard, JPMorgan Chase, Accenture, and McKinsey & Co. regarding software used to analyze consumer data, set prices, or tailor discounts. In January, the FTC staff released a preliminary report warning that some AI pricing tools could leverage individual consumer data to estimate willingness to pay, raising questions about fairness and transparency.
The investigation comes as digital platforms and AI tools increasingly reshape commerce, raising regulatory, ethical, and consumer-protection issues. Instacart now faces the challenge of proving that its AI-driven price experimentation enhances retailer revenue without unfairly disadvantaging consumers already grappling with rising grocery bills.
Analysts believe the outcome of the investigation could have far-reaching implications for other retailers using AI-driven pricing, potentially prompting industry-wide reforms and increased oversight.