McDonald’s is using artificial intelligence to set Big Mac prices — Reuters investigation reveals pressure on franchisees

McDonald’s is increasingly using artificial intelligence to steer menu prices in the U.S. and several global markets — a plan that aims to raise headquarters’ profit but risks angering customers and drawing the attention of antitrust authorities, according to an exclusive Reuters investigation.

The pricing engine uses machine-learning algorithms to continuously analyze data from millions of daily transactions at around 14,000 restaurants and produce what the company calls the “optimal price” for each item at each restaurant, from the Big Mac to discounted senior coffee, as Reuters reports. Screenshots of the interface, reviewed by Reuters, show messages such as “your restaurant is showing AVERAGE price sensitivity,” based partly on “customers’ willingness to pay in your area.”

The engine has widened existing price gaps for the same product between restaurants, including from neighborhood to neighborhood within the same area. A Reuters check of the app showed a Big Mac costs $5.69 at a restaurant in Fresno, California, while two miles away the same sandwich sells for $6.89 — 21% more expensive.

McDonald’s says franchisees are free to set their own prices, but five restaurant owners told Reuters the company has pushed them to use the AI pricing tools. Since January, McDonald’s has asked franchisees to “engage constructively” with approved pricing tools as part of new business standards, and the company records in detail franchisees’ deviations from recommendations — the so-called “pricing non-compliance.”

The deeper push into AI pricing carries regulatory and reputational risks. U.S. courts and regulators are examining whether algorithmic pricing practices can facilitate unlawful coordination among competitors, while the Federal Trade Commission has expressed similar concerns before. McDonald’s own pricing portal warns owners that they “may be competitors with one another” and asks them to fully respect competition laws. The company called Reuters’ claims “speculative and uninformed,” saying the tool is “a tool, not a mandate.”