Why Instacart Backtracked on an AI-Pricing Experiment
Big Take23 Des 2025

Why Instacart Backtracked on an AI-Pricing Experiment

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.

Episoder(882)

How Are the Billions in Biden’s Climate Law Being Spent?

How Are the Billions in Biden’s Climate Law Being Spent?

It’s been eight months since President Biden signed the Inflation Reduction Act into law. And already the hundreds of billions of dollars it contains for clean energy and slowing climate change—alongs...

24 Apr 202328min

The Dark Side of TikTok’s Algorithm

The Dark Side of TikTok’s Algorithm

Bloomberg senior investigative reporter Olivia Carville is back with her latest reporting on TikTok. She explains how the superpopular app’s algorithm can serve up a stream of anxiety and despair to t...

21 Apr 202332min

The US-Saudi Relationship Is In Danger of Falling Apart

The US-Saudi Relationship Is In Danger of Falling Apart

For decades, the United States and Saudi Arabia maintained an important strategic alliance, which gave the US access to Saudi oil in exchange for guaranteeing the kingdom’s security. But growing tensi...

20 Apr 202323min

A Gun That Knows Who’s Pulling The Trigger

A Gun That Knows Who’s Pulling The Trigger

For decades, inventors have tried and failed to make a smart gun. A company called Biofire now appears to have pulled it off. It uses both fingerprint scans and facial recognition so that only a regis...

19 Apr 202328min

America’s Allies Are Not Pleased About the Intel Leaks

America’s Allies Are Not Pleased About the Intel Leaks

The US intelligence community was relieved when a suspect was arrested last week in the leak of highly sensitive classified documents about America’s friends and adversaries. But the fallout is far fr...

18 Apr 202322min

A Flu Shot That Might Work Better–Thanks to Covid-19

A Flu Shot That Might Work Better–Thanks to Covid-19

It’s estimated that half a million or more people around the world die of influenza each year. And many of these deaths could be prevented with a highly effective, widely used flu shot.Now, the mRNA t...

17 Apr 202324min

Dust Off Your Dice–Dungeons & Dragons Is Back

Dust Off Your Dice–Dungeons & Dragons Is Back

The tabletop roleplaying game Dungeons & Dragons is approaching its 50th anniversary and it has never been more popular, attracting players of all ages to its analog charms. Now Hasbro, the toy compan...

14 Apr 202329min

What’s Next In the Fight Over the Abortion Pill?

What’s Next In the Fight Over the Abortion Pill?

This episode was recorded before a federal appeals court ruling partly granted the Biden administration’s request to put on hold a Texas court decision overturning FDA approval of the abortion pill. T...

13 Apr 202331min

Populært innen Politikk og nyheter

giver-og-gjengen-vg
aftenpodden
aftenpodden-usa
forklart
popradet
stopp-verden
dine-penger-pengeradet
rss-gukild-johaug
det-store-bildet
nokon-ma-ga
fotballpodden-2
lydartikler-fra-aftenposten
hanna-de-heldige
rss-ness
aftenbla-bla
rss-espen-lee-usensurert
rss-dannet-uten-piano
rss-penger-polser-og-politikk
frokostshowet-pa-p5
e24-podden