McDonald’s has been hit with an antitrust lawsuit in the United States over its AI-based pricing system. Michael Thomas, a customer in Illinois, filed the case in federal court in Chicago and is seeking class-action status on behalf of what the complaint says could be millions of consumers nationwide. The lawsuit alleges that McDonald’s used AI to coordinate menu prices across franchised and company-operated restaurants, potentially violating U.S. antitrust law. According to the complaint, the company pooled non-public transaction data from individual stores into a single machine-learning pricing engine and then issued pricing recommendations back to those locations. The plaintiff argues that franchisees are independent businesses that should set prices on their own, and that using a shared system built on competitors’ data may reduce the price competition that would otherwise exist between stores. The complaint also cites a previous Reuters investigation into the system. McDonald’s rejected the allegations, calling them speculative and factually flawed. The company said AI does not directly determine the price of a Big Mac or other menu items, and that franchisees still make the final pricing decisions. McDonald’s has also previously said its pricing recommendations are optional and do not have to be adopted.
McDonald’s is facing an antitrust lawsuit in the U.S. over its AI pricing system. Michael Thomas, an Illinois customer, filed the case in federal court in Chicago and is seeking to represent what the complaint says could be millions of consumers across the country in a class action.
The complaint alleges that McDonald’s used AI to coordinate menu prices between franchised and company-operated restaurants, in possible violation of U.S. antitrust law. It says the company pooled non-public transaction data from individual stores into a single machine-learning pricing engine, then provided pricing recommendations to each location.
The complaint centers on competition between stores
The plaintiff argues that franchisees are independent businesses that compete with one another and should set prices independently. By aggregating competitors’ data and feeding recommendations back through the same system, the lawsuit says, McDonald’s may have reduced the price competition that would otherwise exist among stores.
The complaint also directly cites a previous Reuters investigation into the pricing system.
McDonald’s rejects the allegations
McDonald’s denied the claims and said the allegations are "speculative and factually inaccurate." The company said AI does not directly decide how much a Big Mac or other menu items cost, and that franchisees still determine final prices.
McDonald’s has also previously said that any pricing recommendations are only advisory and that franchisees are free not to use them.
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