McDonald’s is facing a proposed nationwide class-action lawsuit alleging the company used an AI tool to help independently owned franchises share pricing and sales data in violation of antitrust law.
Reuters reports that the lawsuit, filed October 2 in federal court in Chicago, claims McDonald’s built a system that let thousands of nominally independent restaurant owners coordinate on prices instead of setting them on their own. “This case is about McDonald’s bringing ‘optimization’ to America’s largest fast food chain,” the complaint states. It goes on to allege: “McDonald’s has built and for years deployed its own information-sharing pricing platform, which draws on data from its millions of daily transactions to set menu prices across thousands of US restaurants. The result is algorithmic price-fixing aimed at customers who are already stretched thin.”
Most McDonald’s restaurants in the US are independently owned franchises, and each is supposed to set its own prices. The lead plaintiff, Michael Thomas, is described in the filing as a “price conscious” McDonald’s regular from DeKalb, Illinois. Thomas typically orders a Quarter Pounder with cheese, fries and a Coke, and said he noticed the price for that order varied even within his own neighborhood. His attorney did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
A McDonald’s spokesperson called the allegations baseless, saying the “complaint is filled with inaccuracies and we will vigorously defend against this lawsuit.” The company also pushed back on the idea that AI is behind pricing decisions: “AI does not set menu prices at McDonald’s restaurants, McDonald’s franchisees do,” the spokesperson said, adding that “optional tools are available to franchisees to help them make the best decisions for their businesses and customers, but these tools do not automate, coordinate or fix pricing in any way.” That statement, issued October 1, came one day before the lawsuit was filed.
McDonald’s acquired the AI company Dynamic Yield in 2019. According to a company fact sheet published in 2024, the average price of a McDonald’s menu item rose about 40 percent between 2019 and 2024.
McDonald’s pricing has drawn scrutiny before. In 2023, an $18 Big Mac meal at a Connecticut McDonald’s drew widespread attention online, and the owner of that franchise later filed a separate lawsuit claiming the AI pricing tool had itself suggested the $18 price. A Reuters investigation separately reported that some McDonald’s franchise owners said they felt pressured to use AI pricing tools, and to document any instances where they deviated from the tool’s recommended prices. McDonald’s described that reporting as “speculative and uninformed.”
Breitbart News recently reported that Chick-fil-A has ruled out the integration of AI into its drive-thru process:
Hospitality seems central to Chick-fil-A’s approach to AI. Cathy told CNBC that Chick-fil-A is exploring AI for various uses behind the scenes, but drawing a clear line at the drive-thru window. “From our experience, we really want that hospitality to be human to human,” he said. “We’re not gonna substitute that interaction with technology, because we feel like that hospitality is so important to create that warm environment for consumers.”
Read more at Reuters here.
Lucas Nolan is a reporter for Breitbart News covering issues of AI, free speech, and online censorship.