Amna Nawaz
@PBSNewsHour·5.3M subscribers·62.2K videos
WATCH: How to buy plane tickets in the AI era
Posted
August 8, 2025
Views
511,532
Likes
6,068
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August 8, 2025
511,532
6,068
1.19%
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4:33Now PlayingYou may have heard that Delta is using artificial intelligence to help set some airfare prices. That has sparked fears that the airline, or any airline in the future, could create a custom price for you, using your data to find how much you would be willing to pay for a ticket.
Delta says its not doing that, but that they are using AI to adjust prices in response to market forces — faster than humans can — for about 3% of fares now, moving up to 20% of fares by the end of the year.
But, AI-driven custom pricing isn't science fiction, and may not be far off from regular usage online and in store. What's more, due to a lack of transparency around when AI is used to help set prices, you may not even know it's being used to set the price you see.
To explore what fliers should do now, and how all consumers can help guard themselves against artificial intelligence-created custom prices, PBS News' Tim McPhillips spoke with Jay Zagorsky, Professor at Boston University's Questrom School of Business.
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