ACCC warns AI can price you higher than your neighbor
Australia's consumer watchdog told parliament that AI-powered personalised pricing can harm vulnerable customers, and no law currently stops it.
The ACCC raised alarms about artificial intelligence charging different prices to different people. Personalised pricing uses their data and willingness to pay.
"Where that pricing gets extremely granular, that could potentially establish their willingness to pay completely," said David Abkiewicz, the ACCC's digital markets general manager. Giving different prices to certain groups is not against Australian law.
But restrictions are emerging in the US and other countries. The watchdog also warned about "agentic shopping," where bots make purchases on behalf of consumers.
These bots may have built-in brand preferences or may collude to steer shoppers away from genuine best deals. AI is also making scams more convincing.
It is helping criminals operate at scale with deepfakes and voice cloning.
- David Abkiewicz
- ACCC digital markets general manager
- Jayde Richmond
- ACCC National Anti-Scam Centre general
- US and other jurisdictions
- Countries with emerging restrictions
Why it mattersIf companies can see how much you are willing to pay, they can charge you more than a stranger pays for the same product. The law may not protect you.
AustraliaAustralian shoppers are already vulnerable to AI-powered pricing; the ACCC is watching closely but has no clear path to prosecute companies that exploit surveillance data.
✓ Claims checked against the source. checked 3 h ago
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