Consumer Reports finds Uber and Lyft use AI for pricing
A new Consumer Reports investigation says Uber and Lyft are using AI to set ride prices, leading to some pretty wild differences, even for the same route, just minutes apart.
The study found a 50% median price swing for similar rides, and nearly 11% of all discounts appear to be fake, just based on inflated "original" prices.
Riders in the investigation noticed they could pay totally different amounts for the exact same trip on the same day.
Uber, Lyft defend pricing amid profits
Uber says its system updates prices nearly every second, which explains the changes, while Lyft blames artificial inflation from how tests were run.
Both deny offering fake discounts. Still, both companies have made big profits since switching to algorithmic pricing: Uber's yearly profit jumped from almost $2.1 billion in 2019 to $7.9 billion in 2025, and Lyft went from losing money to making nearly $529 million last year, even as people keep worrying about rising costs and how these prices are set.