The Federal Trade Commission is tightening scrutiny of AI-powered personalized pricing, a practice where companies use personal data to estimate what each shopper will pay.

In August 2026, the agency proposed guidance saying such pricing is not automatically unlawful, but firms can face action if personal data is used unfairly or deceptively, especially without disclosure. McDonald's, meanwhile, uses an AI platform run by Tiger Analytics to recommend menu prices at the restaurant level, Reuters found. The company says franchisees keep final control over prices and that the tool does not set customer-specific prices.

The FTC's move is the most significant federal regulatory action yet targeting a specific commercial use of AI. Separately, Google DeepMind released Gemini 4 Argon, a new frontier model for long-horizon coding, enterprise work and cyber defence.

Gemini 4 Argon supports up to one million output tokens at $2/$10 per million input/output tokens. It is rolling out first to a limited set of trusted cyber defenders under the Fairwind Program.

For consumers, the pricing fight matters because AI can quietly sort shoppers by willingness to pay. Expect disclosure rules to become the first line of defence.