Couple's AI Bot Calls 20,000 Gas Stations to Build National Price Tracker

UK-based couple creates Gas Index website and phone bot to crowdsource real-time gas prices across the US.

Apr. 9, 2026 at 9:37am

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A highly detailed, glowing 3D illustration of a futuristic gas pump interface, with neon cyan and magenta lights illuminating the digital display and controls. The pump is surrounded by a network of interconnected data cables and circuit boards, conceptually representing the complex infrastructure powering the real-time gas price tracking.An AI-powered gas price tracking system aims to bring transparency to the volatile fuel market across the United States.Cortland Today

Matt Cortland and John Fleming, a married couple based in London, have launched a new website and phone bot called Gas Index that tracks gas prices across the US. The project uses a combination of data from Google, user-submitted photos and receipts, and AI-generated phone calls to over 20,000 gas stations to build a comprehensive national price tracker. The goal is to provide up-to-date pricing information to help consumers navigate the volatile fuel market, especially amid the ongoing conflict in Iran that has driven up prices.

Why it matters

With gas prices varying widely across the US, from $3.43 in Oklahoma to $5.93 in California, the Gas Index project aims to fill a gap in pricing transparency and empower consumers to make more informed decisions about where to fill up. The founders note that in the UK, gas stations are required to update prices every 30 minutes, while the US lacks such standardized regulations, making it harder for drivers to track costs.

The details

The Gas Index website and phone bot were built over the course of just a few days using a combination of tools like Claude Code, ElevenLabs, Twilio, and Supabase. The AI-powered phone calls to gas stations have revealed regional differences, with Texas being the hardest state to reach and only 20% of stations in New Jersey sharing prices. Independently owned stations were generally more willing to provide pricing information. The founders estimate they spent between $3,000 and $5,000 on AI tokens for the project, though a grant from ElevenLabs helped offset those costs.

  • The Gas Index website and phone bot launched on Monday, April 8, 2026.
  • On Wednesday, April 10, 2026, the national average for regular gas was $4.16 per gallon, according to AAA.

The players

Matt Cortland

A London-based consultant who has family in New Jersey and co-founded the Gas Index project.

John Fleming

A UK-based postdoctoral researcher at Oxford University who co-founded the Gas Index project with Cortland.

Gas Index

A website and phone bot created by Cortland and Fleming to track gas prices across the United States.

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What they’re saying

“It seemed like a relatively new way of getting up-to-date information. We thought, 'What's the thing that could be really impactful for people?' We arrived at gas prices.”

— Matt Cortland, Co-founder, Gas Index

“The US is trying to fill a gap. In the UK, it's a gold standard system. People in petrol stations have to update their prices every half hour and make it publicly accessible.”

— John Fleming, Co-founder, Gas Index

What’s next

The founders of Gas Index say they plan to continue improving the accuracy and coverage of their price tracking by expanding their data sources and user-submitted information. They also hope to add more features to the website and phone bot to make it even more useful for consumers navigating the volatile fuel market.

The takeaway

The Gas Index project highlights the potential for innovative, technology-driven solutions to address gaps in consumer information and empower people to make more informed decisions about their spending, especially on essential goods like gasoline. By combining data from multiple sources and leveraging AI-powered tools, Cortland and Fleming have created a resource that could have a significant impact on how drivers across the US track and respond to fluctuating gas prices.