New York just flipped the script on invisible “AI shopping” by passing the first law in the United States that forces retailers to admit when an algorithm is personalizing your price. Under the Algorithmic Pricing Disclosure Act, which took effect on November 10, 2025, any company doing business in New York that uses an individual shopper’s personal data to set or advertise a price has to put a clear notice right next to that price.
The law is aimed at so‑called “surveillance pricing,” where retailers feed signals like your location, loyalty‑program history, browsing behavior, or device data into AI models to decide what you should pay—sometimes charging different customers different amounts for the exact same product.
It does not ban all dynamic pricing; time‑of‑day changes, inventory‑based markdowns, or site‑wide promotions can continue as long as they do not rely on data tied to a specific, identifiable consumer. Regulators define “personal data” broadly but carve out some categories, including information used by certain for‑hire vehicle services and companies already tightly regulated under financial and insurance laws in New York State.
For shoppers, the biggest shift is visibility. On apps and websites, especially inside loyalty programs and “personalized offer” spaces, people in New York should start seeing explicit labels whenever their personal data has helped determine the price in front of them. The New York Attorney General’s Office has urged consumers to report any undisclosed algorithmic pricing and can escalate from cease‑and‑desist letters to injunctions and civil penalties of up to $1,000 per violation, even if no individual shopper proves economic harm.
For retailers, marketplaces, and platforms selling into New York, this means auditing where algorithms touch pricing, rewriting UX so the mandated statement sits directly beside affected prices, and training teams to distinguish covered “personalized algorithmic pricing” from broader dynamic practices.
Privacy and consumer‑protection lawyers say this New York framework is likely to become a reference point for other US states and for future federal scrutiny of AI‑driven pricing, putting new pressure on brands to treat price personalization less like a black box and more as a disclosed feature customers can see—and judge.
The law is clear: if businesses use algorithmic pricing, they must notify consumers. New Yorkers deserve to know whether their personal information is being used to set the prices they pay, and if businesses are charging customers different prices for the same products.
I will not hesitate to take action against those who try to mislead New Yorkers and use their personal information to manipulate prices without their knowledge,” said Attorney General James.
