McDonald's AI Is Pricing Big Macs by Neighborhood — Fold and Steak 'n Shake Stack Sats Instead 🍔

McDonald's is running machine-learning models across its nearly 14,000 U.S. restaurants to set what it calls "optimal" menu prices, with one input being an estimate of how much customers at each location will tolerate paying, according to a Reuters report reviewed by Crypto News Room. The platform, operated for McDonald's by analytics firm Tiger Analytics, processes millions of daily transactions and also ingests competitors' published prices, pulled from online listings of nearby chains such as Wendy's and Burger King. Both rivals told Reuters they do not use AI in pricing decisions, and Tiger Analytics declined to comment.

Screenshots of the franchisee-facing interface reviewed by Reuters include messages telling an owner their restaurant shows "MEDIUM SENSITIVITY to price," based in part on "customer willingness to pay in your area." Three franchisees said the engine has widened price gaps between restaurants selling the same product, including between neighborhoods in the same market. A Reuters check of the McDonald's app in September found a company-run store in Fresno, California selling a Big Mac for $5.69 while another company-run restaurant two miles away charged $6.89, a 21% premium. Reuters said it could not confirm whether the engine caused the difference.

Corporate parameters supplied to the system have included concentrating increases on items whose prices have not risen in two years and keeping ice cream and soft drinks out of increases over the summer. Franchisees officially set their own prices, but five owners told Reuters the company pressures them to follow the recommendations, and a June document shows McDonald's records deviations in detail. From January, franchisees have been required to engage "constructively" with the company's approved pricing consultant and tools, and chief executive Chris Kempczinski reportedly told investors in August that "pricing non-compliance in certain cases" forms part of franchisee business reviews. The portal's legal terms warn owners that they "may be competitors" of one another and should comply with antitrust law. Similar systems drew consumer backlash in 2024, when Wendy's faced criticism over reports of busier-time pricing — claims the company said misconstrued an earnings update about digital menu boards.

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