Here's an irony that should bother you.
Congress is considering regulations on AI-powered pricing tools - the same tools that are finally giving small businesses a fair shot at competing with large chains on price.
The Small Business and Entrepreneurship Council published a pointed piece this week with a clear message: don't regulate away the one advantage small businesses just got.
What AI pricing actually does for small businesses
Let me put numbers on this. A survey of businesses using AI-powered pricing tools found that 97% reported revenue gains. Not "felt good about it." Not "plan to see results eventually." 97% saw actual revenue increases.
Here's why. Before AI pricing tools, setting competitive prices meant one of two things:
Option A: Guess. Look at what the shop down the street charges, check a few websites, pick a number. Hope it works.
Option B: Hire a pricing consultant. Pay $5,000 to $15,000 for a pricing analysis that's outdated by the time you implement it.
Large retailers have had dynamic pricing teams and algorithms for years. Walmart adjusts prices on 80 million items using AI. Amazon changes prices on products an average of every 10 minutes. Small businesses were competing against that with spreadsheets and gut feelings.
AI pricing tools changed that equation. For $50 to $200 a month, a small business owner can now:
- Monitor competitor pricing in real time
- Adjust prices based on demand, seasonality, and inventory
- Identify the price points that maximize both revenue and margin
- React to market changes in hours instead of weeks
That's not "algorithmic collusion" or "price gouging." That's leveling a playing field that's been tilted against small businesses for decades.
What regulation could look like
The concern from lawmakers is about "algorithmic pricing" broadly - the idea that AI tools could coordinate pricing across businesses, leading to artificially high prices for consumers.
That's a legitimate concern when you're talking about a few large companies in the same industry using the same pricing algorithm. If every airline uses the same AI to set ticket prices, that could reduce competition.
But small businesses aren't airlines. A local hardware store using AI to price competitively against Home Depot isn't colluding. It's surviving.
The risk of one-size-fits-all regulation
If Congress writes broad rules targeting "AI-powered pricing," those rules will hit the local restaurant owner using AI to adjust menu prices and the Fortune 500 company using the same technology to maximize shareholder value. The Fortune 500 company has lawyers and compliance teams to navigate new regulations. The restaurant owner doesn't.
This is the pattern we keep seeing with technology regulation: rules written for the biggest players that disproportionately burden the smallest ones.
What I'd like to see instead
Smart regulation would:
- Target coordination between large competitors, not individual pricing tools
- Exempt businesses below a certain revenue threshold (say, $10 million)
- Focus on transparency rather than prohibition
- Include input from actual small business owners, not just tech companies and consumer advocacy groups
The SBE Council put it well: don't mess with the tools that are helping small businesses compete. Regulate the behavior, not the technology.
What to do
If you use AI pricing tools in your business and this matters to you, the SBE Council is collecting input from small business owners. Your voice matters more than you think on issues like this. Most lawmakers have heard from big tech companies and consumer groups. Very few have heard from a bakery owner who uses AI to price cupcakes.
Sources
- AI-Supported Pricing is Helping Small Businesses Compete - SBE Council, March 18, 2026
- Don't Regulate Away Playing-Field-Leveling AI - RealClearMarkets, March 20, 2026