U.S. consumers are angry and confused about the high-tech ways that restaurant chains and major retailers set prices.

Digital price tags are replacing paper ones in grocery aisles.

AI tools help businesses decide what to charge by predicting how customers might respond.

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

There, users 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 shaped by algorithms they don't understand has touched a nerve.

So has personal data they may not know they are sharing.

Katie Thomas of the consulting firm Kearney said there is major tension over who will hold the power: companies or shoppers.

Companies say some concerns come from misconceptions.

Walmart CEO John Furner said in a blog post that digital tags save workers time and 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 transparent about the data they collect, which has made consumers suspicious.

Lawmakers and regulators are acting.

Legislators in at least 30 states have considered pricing bills this year, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures.

These include measures on algorithmic and personalized pricing.

The Federal Trade Commission has proposed a policy warning about personal data.

It says failing to disclose the use of personal data to set individual prices could violate consumer protection law.