A federal antitrust lawsuit filed against McDonald’s this week alleges the chain runs an AI-powered pricing engine that sets menu prices across US restaurants and overcharges customers on staples like Big Macs and fries.
McDonald’s denied setting prices by what an individual will pay, saying it gives franchisees tools and recommendations so they can decide for themselves.
The filing is the sharpest public test yet of where algorithmic pricing crosses a line. Regulators and shoppers are asking whether the same system that reacts to demand can be tuned to a person.
Supermarkets are already moving in that direction. Kroger has deployed a platform called FlashFood to mark down perishables nearing expiry and push them to shoppers through an app.
Electronic shelf labels are spreading quickly across Kroger, Amazon Fresh, Walmart and Whole Foods, and across UK chains including Tesco, Morrisons and Asda. The screens make a price change cheap to execute and invisible to anyone not standing in the aisle.
Revolut has trialled facial-recognition checkout in selected coffee shops, letting customers pay with a glance.
Academics and central bankers have warned that as these tools normalize, dynamic pricing becomes easier to personalise. Airlines, hotels and ride-hailing have done version one of this for years. Groceries are where it gets politically uncomfortable.
