McDonald’s sued over AI pricing system accused of coordinating menu prices
The lawsuit also noted that other fast-food companies are turning to AI to help with pricing and other operations.
- Oct 6, 2026,
- Updated Oct 6, 2026 3:23 PM IST
McDonald’s has been sued in a US federal court over allegations that it used an AI-powered system to help coordinate menu prices across its restaurants and franchises, Reuters reported on Monday.
The proposed nationwide class action was filed in federal court in Chicago on Friday. The lawsuit alleges that McDonald’s violated US antitrust law by conspiring with independent franchisees to fix prices using algorithms trained on nonpublic data.
“Independent businesses must set their prices independently,” the lawsuit said.
The lawsuit comes after Reuters reported last week that McDonald’s pricing engine uses machine-learning algorithms to continuously analyse data from millions of daily transactions across its nearly 14,000 restaurants.
The lawsuit also noted that other fast-food companies are turning to AI to help with pricing and other operations.
McDonald’s, in a statement on Monday, called the allegations speculative and uninformed.
“AI does not set the price of a Big Mac or any other menu item,” the company said. It said franchisees make their own pricing decisions, and that the use of pricing recommendation tools and analytics is widespread across industries.
US plaintiffs have filed a wave of class actions in recent years alleging that companies used algorithms or AI to illegally coordinate prices for hotel rooms, apartment rentals and other purchases.
Lark Turner, a lawyer for the plaintiff, said in a statement that McDonald’s is “leveraging its troves of data and its franchised system to nickel-and-dime consumers down to the last French fry.”
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The plaintiff, an Illinois resident, is seeking to represent a class of potentially millions of McDonald’s customers, the lawsuit said.
About McDonald’s
McDonald’s began as a small drive-in restaurant in San Bernardino, California, and has grown into one of the world’s largest restaurant companies.
The company says it now serves more than 70 million customers every day around the world.
McDonald’s has more than 46,000 locations across more than 100 countries. About 95% of its restaurants are owned and operated by independent local business owners, making franchisees an important part of the company’s global business model.
The company’s history dates back to 1948, when brothers Maurice and Richard McDonald opened their first restaurant in San Bernardino. Businessman Ray Kroc later helped expand the brand through franchising and turned McDonald’s into a global restaurant chain.
At the end of 2025, McDonald’s had 45,356 restaurants worldwide, including 13,706 in the US. About 95% of its restaurants were franchised at the end of that year.
McDonald’s has also been expanding its use of technology across its restaurants. In September 2026, the company said its new NEXT strategy would include the use of generative AI-enabled ArchIQ across its US and International Operated Markets. The company said the technology is intended to improve restaurant efficiency as it expands its operations.
The company reported global systemwide sales of $37 billion in the second quarter of 2026, up 5% from a year earlier. It also said nearly 220 million people were active loyalty members over a 90-day period across 70 loyalty markets at the end of the quarter.
McDonald’s has been sued in a US federal court over allegations that it used an AI-powered system to help coordinate menu prices across its restaurants and franchises, Reuters reported on Monday.
The proposed nationwide class action was filed in federal court in Chicago on Friday. The lawsuit alleges that McDonald’s violated US antitrust law by conspiring with independent franchisees to fix prices using algorithms trained on nonpublic data.
“Independent businesses must set their prices independently,” the lawsuit said.
The lawsuit comes after Reuters reported last week that McDonald’s pricing engine uses machine-learning algorithms to continuously analyse data from millions of daily transactions across its nearly 14,000 restaurants.
The lawsuit also noted that other fast-food companies are turning to AI to help with pricing and other operations.
McDonald’s, in a statement on Monday, called the allegations speculative and uninformed.
“AI does not set the price of a Big Mac or any other menu item,” the company said. It said franchisees make their own pricing decisions, and that the use of pricing recommendation tools and analytics is widespread across industries.
US plaintiffs have filed a wave of class actions in recent years alleging that companies used algorithms or AI to illegally coordinate prices for hotel rooms, apartment rentals and other purchases.
Lark Turner, a lawyer for the plaintiff, said in a statement that McDonald’s is “leveraging its troves of data and its franchised system to nickel-and-dime consumers down to the last French fry.”
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The plaintiff, an Illinois resident, is seeking to represent a class of potentially millions of McDonald’s customers, the lawsuit said.
About McDonald’s
McDonald’s began as a small drive-in restaurant in San Bernardino, California, and has grown into one of the world’s largest restaurant companies.
The company says it now serves more than 70 million customers every day around the world.
McDonald’s has more than 46,000 locations across more than 100 countries. About 95% of its restaurants are owned and operated by independent local business owners, making franchisees an important part of the company’s global business model.
The company’s history dates back to 1948, when brothers Maurice and Richard McDonald opened their first restaurant in San Bernardino. Businessman Ray Kroc later helped expand the brand through franchising and turned McDonald’s into a global restaurant chain.
At the end of 2025, McDonald’s had 45,356 restaurants worldwide, including 13,706 in the US. About 95% of its restaurants were franchised at the end of that year.
McDonald’s has also been expanding its use of technology across its restaurants. In September 2026, the company said its new NEXT strategy would include the use of generative AI-enabled ArchIQ across its US and International Operated Markets. The company said the technology is intended to improve restaurant efficiency as it expands its operations.
The company reported global systemwide sales of $37 billion in the second quarter of 2026, up 5% from a year earlier. It also said nearly 220 million people were active loyalty members over a 90-day period across 70 loyalty markets at the end of the quarter.