Vendors and modelsDeployer
Instacart AI failures
Every documented AI failure involving Instacart on the AI Failure Index, classified by the mechanism that broke.
- Failures
- 2
- Highest severity
- Medium
- Span
- 2024 to 2025
- Failure modes
- 2
Instacart AI pricing tests showed shoppers different prices for identical grocery items
A December 2025 study by Consumer Reports, Groundwork Collaborative and More Perfect Union found that Instacart ran AI-driven pricing experiments that resulted in different shoppers seeing different prices for the same items, with some differences reported up to 23%. After public reporting and regulatory questions, Instacart said it would end item price tests on its platform on December 22, 2025. The company had acquired Eversight, an AI pricing and promotions platform, in 2022 and said retailers control prices listed on the app.
- Confidence
- Medium (multi-source)
Instacart quietly removed AI-generated recipe photos users found impossible and unappetizing
Instacart deployed AI-generated images alongside recipe content on its platform that contained physically impossible food depictions such as conjoined chickens, hot dogs with tomato interiors, and lemons fused with lettuce. After users flagged the images on Reddit and press coverage ensued, Instacart quietly removed the offending AI images and replaced some with stock photography. The company stated it reviews AI-generated content and may remove it when it does not deliver a high-quality consumer experience.
- Confidence
- Medium (multi-source)
See how Realm catches these failure modes at runtime, before they reach production.
Book a Demo