Airlines have been at this for decades. After the industry was deregulated in the late 1970s, carriers needed a way to maximize revenue without alienating customers. They developed yield management systems to adjust fares in real time based on seat availability, booking date and historical demand. You know you’ll pay much more for a ticket over Thanksgiving weekend than you would at non-holiday periods. Hotels followed, charging more for peak dates and less for off-season stays. Big conference in town? You know room rates will be a lot higher. Rental car companies did the same.

In the 2000s, online retailers began to experiment with dynamic pricing. Amazon was a pioneer, adjusting prices on millions of items several times a day. Ride-share services like Uber and Lyft took it mainstream with “surge pricing,” raising fares during busy times. An Uber fare to the airport can double in price when demand is high. These systems were rules-based; engineers programmed them to respond to specific triggers.

AI could make those adjustments more sophisticated. Instead of relying on a fixed set of rules, an AI agent can analyze huge amounts of data, spot patterns and make predictions without human intervention in near real-time. For an airline, that might mean factoring in the current load on a particular flight, weather forecasts, competitor fares, regional events and booking trends over years of historical data. But will it include your personal purchase history and other related data?

Delta says it will not use personal data to set prices, but AI is capable of analyzing information that could be linked to individual customers. Your past flight purchases, related purchases like a travel experience beyond a drivable distance, or searches for off-campus housing out-of-state could theoretically be used to price your flight. In practice, most companies avoid this because of privacy concerns, potential regulation and the risk of losing customer trust. But it’s a possibility, and one worth guarding against.

Let’s take an example. You’re booking a flight from Salt Lake City to New York. On Monday evening, the fare is $389. On Tuesday morning, it jumps to $415. That change could be the result of several factors: seats selling overnight, a competitor raising fares or historical data showing more bookings on Tuesdays. If you’re logged in to your airline account and frequently fly this route, AI could also flag you as less price-sensitive and hold the fare steady instead of offering a deal.

You may not be able to control how an airline sets its prices, but you can take steps to protect your data and shop smarter. Using “private” or “incognito” mode in your browser will keep the website from seeing your past searches. In Chrome, click the three dots in the top right and select “New Incognito Window.” In Safari, choose “File” then “New Private Window.”

Clearing your browser history and cookies will also erase saved search information that could affect prices; in Chrome or Safari, look under “Settings” or “Preferences” for “Clear History” or “Clear Browsing Data.” It can help to compare prices on different devices, such as your phone and computer, because sometimes prices vary by device. Wait to log in to your frequent flyer or travel site account until you’re ready to pay so prices aren’t adjusted based on your profile.

If you’re using ChatGPT for travel searches, use the Temporary Chat feature. This option lets you have chats that do not save in your history or get used for training, and they are deleted after 30 days. Look for a dashed chat bubble in the upper right corner of your ChatGPT window to turn on this feature.

You might also try a VPN, or virtual private network, which hides your location by routing your internet connection through another city or country. Most VPN services have simple apps you can turn on before you search, but they do charge a fee. These steps won’t guarantee the lowest price every time, but they can help you avoid overpaying in an age of AI-powered pricing.

Leslie Meredith has been writing about technology for more than a decade. As a mom of four, value, usefulness and online safety take priority. Have a question? Email Leslie at asklesliemeredith@gmail.com.