Fuel retailers face lawsuit over alleged AI pricing in California

Drivers claim major operators used algorithmic tools to raise gasoline prices, triggering antitrust concerns and legal action.

Major fuel retailers including BP, Marathon Petroleum, 7-Eleven and Walmart have been sued in California over allegations that they used artificial intelligence to raise gasoline prices. The proposed class action, filed in federal court in Sacramento, claims the companies coordinated pricing through data-driven software, increasing costs for consumers across the state.

According to the complaint, the retailers used an AI-based pricing tool to monitor competitors and adjust prices in near real time. Plaintiffs argue this practice enabled coordinated pricing behavior, violating California’s Cartwright Act and a new law, Assembly Bill 325, which targets algorithmic price fixing.

Drivers allege that in areas where the tool is widely used, fuel prices rose by as much as 30 cents per gallon, as reported by Reuters. 

The lawsuit states that each one-cent increase adds approximately $134 million annually to consumer spending in California, where gasoline prices are already the highest in the United States. The defendants collectively operate more than 1,700 service stations in California. Tech supplier Kalibrate is part of the defendants.