Definition
The use of AI or algorithmic software to set prices in a way that effectively coordinates pricing among competing companies, even though the companies never directly communicate with each other. Regulators increasingly treat shared pricing algorithms as a mechanism through which rivals can illegally align prices.
Why it matters
This is now a live antitrust enforcement target — a company can be legally barred from using a pricing algorithm entirely, making 'the algorithm did it' an insufficient defense for boards overseeing pricing technology.