McDonald’s was sued in federal court in Chicago over claims that an artificial intelligence pricing system lets the company and its franchisees set menu prices together, and that customers pay more because of it.
Michael Thomas, of DeKalb, Illinois, filed the proposed class action lawsuit on Oct. 2 against McDonald’s Corp. and McDonald’s USA. He wants to represent customers who bought food at the chain.
The complaint says he regularly bought the same items at different restaurants and paid different prices.
McDonald’s hit with lawsuit alleging AI-powered menu price-fixing https://t.co/bTA38Sf7VU https://t.co/fO1Zk4Zh0v
— New York Post (@nypost) October 5, 2026
The suit said about 95 percent of the roughly 14,000 U.S. McDonald’s restaurants are owned by independent franchisees, who are supposed to set their own prices and compete with one another.
It added that since at least 2019, the company has run a machine-learning “pricing engine” that takes in sales data from millions of daily transactions, including franchisees’ confidential figures, and recommends a price for each restaurant.
That engine, the complaint said, does more than cover costs.
It estimates what a restaurant’s customers will pay, uses other McDonald’s locations’ non-public data to gauge price sensitivity, and ties one store’s increases to whether other stores have already raised the same item.
“Independent businesses must set their prices independently,” the filing said.
McDonald’s has been accused of using artificial intelligence to help push up the price of your Big Mac in a bombshell new lawsuit https://t.co/X6EeT10CtW 🔗 https://t.co/KMM6C6LOfO
— Daily Mail (@DailyMail) October 6, 2026
The complaint added that McDonald’s pressured franchisees to use the tool and, starting in January 2026, required them to use the company’s approved pricing consultant and tools.
It said the company tracks stores that stray from the recommendations and has told investors that “pricing non-compliance” can affect whether a franchisee is considered for renewal or more stores.
Franchisees who fall out of favor risk the investment in their restaurants, the suit alleged.
McDonald’s gains either way, according to the filing, because the company takes the sales at company-owned stores and a royalty on franchise revenue.
A May 29, 2024, company fact sheet was cited for a claim that average menu prices rose about 40 percent from 2019 to 2024. The 2022 and 2023 annual reports are cited as crediting “strategic menu price increases” for the revenue hikes.
The claims for relief are under Section 1 of the Sherman Act, the Illinois Antitrust Act, and the Illinois Consumer Fraud and Deceptive Business Practices Act.
Thomas is seeking treble damages, an injunction, and attorneys’ fees.
One section of the complaint is headed “An $18 Burger.”
Reuters, which reported on the filing Monday, said the suit cites a Sept. 29 Reuters story on the McDonald’s pricing engine, and on other chains using AI for prices and operations.
Similar class action lawsuits have been filed in recent years over hotel rooms and apartment rents, Reuters reported.
McDonald’s called the claims speculative and uninformed. “AI does not set the price of a Big Mac or any other menu item,” the company said.
It insisted that franchisees set their own prices and that recommendation tools are common across numerous industries.
Lark Turner, a lawyer for Thomas, meanwhile said that McDonald’s was “leveraging its troves of data and its franchised system to nickel-and-dime consumers down to the last French fry.”
This article appeared originally on The Western Journal.
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