U.S. consumers are angry and confused about how restaurant chains and big retailers set prices.

They use high-tech methods to do this.

Digital price tags are replacing paper ones in grocery stores.

AI tools help businesses decide what to charge.

These tools predict how customers might react.

Terms like "dynamic pricing" and "surveillance pricing" are causing worry on social media.

Users there wonder if different people pay different prices for the same product.

Americans are used to changing prices for flights, hotel rooms and rides.

But everyday spending is now shaped by algorithms they don't understand.

It is also shaped by personal data they may not know they are sharing.

This has touched a nerve.

Katie Thomas of the consulting firm Kearney said there is major tension.

The tension is over who will hold the power: companies or shoppers.

Companies say some concerns come from misunderstandings.

Walmart CEO John Furner said in a blog post that digital tags save workers time.

He said they also keep prices current.

He said the labels are not used to raise prices based on weather, time of day or the individual shopper.

He added that Walmart prices the product, not the person.

But companies are not always open about the data they collect.

This has made consumers suspicious.

Lawmakers and regulators are taking action.

Legislators in at least 30 states have considered pricing bills this year.

These include measures on algorithmic and personalized pricing, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures.

The Federal Trade Commission has proposed a policy.

It warns that failing to disclose the use of personal data to set individual prices could break consumer protection law.