The study's outcome is open. It is at the information-gathering stage, and no enforcement action has been announced. The inquiry replaces a 2024 FTC study that the agency now says was misdirected. That earlier order went to eight companies, and the FTC said it learned nothing about actual pricing decisions. The new study targets firms that set prices directly rather than the "middleman consultancies" that allegedly sold surveillance pricing tools to businesses. Whether the FTC moves from inquiry to enforcement, and against which companies, has not been determined.
For attorneys, the scope matters. The inquiry moves federal scrutiny of algorithmic pricing from middlemen to consumer-facing companies, including airlines, retailers and gig platforms. The FTC also proposed a policy in August 2026 that would require businesses to disclose whether they use personalized pricing and to share the types of data involved. The agency's 2022 gig-worker enforcement statement already holds that companies using AI or advanced technologies to govern pay, performance and work assignments must keep promises made to workers. Legislators in at least 30 states have considered bills on algorithmic and personalized pricing this year. Clients in travel, retail, delivery and rideshare should review how their pricing and pay models use personal data, and track the 45-day response deadline and any federal-court filings that follow.