California lawsuit accuses gas stations of using AI to fix fuel prices

Californian residents filed a federal class action lawsuit on June 22, 2026, in the US District Court for the Eastern District of California against Kalibrate and 14 major gas station chains, alleging the companies used AI-based pricing software to coordinate and inflate fuel prices. 

The lawsuit is aimed at Marathon Petroleum, Circle K, BP, 7-Eleven, Walmart, and Albertsons for violating California’s antitrust laws and Assembly Bill 325 that prevents the use of price-setting software to restrict trade.

The plaintiffs describe Kalibrate as the "central nervous system for a conspiracy to extinguish retail price competition among gas stations". According to the lawsuit, Kalibrate helps "coordinate high prices" and even discourages users from pricing gas lower than competitors, saying that doing so would trigger a "downward spiral". 

The lawsuit lists a "restoration" tool that helps "nearly all gas stations in an area raise their prices contemporaneously and by a large amount".

The case puts the average overcharge per gallon sold by Kalibrate stations at around 6 cents and up to 30 cents. Considering the state uses around 13.4 billion gallons of gasoline per year, “even one extra cent per gallon” costs the drivers $134 million a year, the case states.

ARCO, Marathon Petroleum, whose network includes over 1,000 gasoline stations in California, has run Kalibrate fuel service since at least 2020.

Fears regarding pricing through algorithms saw California Governor Gavin Newsom sign Assembly Bill 325 in the previous year. This bill subjects state antitrust law to pricing algorithms, thus setting the path for the lawsuit filed this week.

Kalibrate is based out of Manchester, England, and works in over 70 nations around the world. Kalibrate did not respond to our attempts at getting a comment on the matter. This is the first example of a legal challenge to fuel pricing algorithms in the United States.