AI pricing是這篇文章討論的核心
McDonald’s has been using an AI-enhanced pricing tool since 2019 to help set location-specific menu prices in the U.S. and some global markets. The system analyzes millions of daily transactions across roughly 14,000 U.S. restaurants to estimate customers’ “willingness to pay” for items such as the Big Mac, which can result in price differences of more than $1 at nearby locations.

According to the company, McDonald’s collected data and recommended prices to franchisees long before adopting AI. Franchisees own and operate about 95% of U.S. McDonald’s locations. A 2024 fact sheet noted that the average McDonald’s menu item price had risen about 40% between 2019 and 2024.

The practice is part of a broader strategy known as **dynamic pricing** (or variable pricing): businesses use algorithms to adjust prices based on demand, market conditions, competitor pricing, and other external factors. While dynamic pricing is common in hospitality, travel, entertainment, retail, and utilities, its use in fast food has drawn public scrutiny.

The AI pricing system is now the subject of a federal class-action lawsuit, which alleges that McDonald’s violated U.S. antitrust law by sharing nonpublic data with independently owned franchisees and conspiring to fix menu prices. The suit highlights growing legal and consumer concerns over algorithm-driven pricing in everyday retail.

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*Photo: Daniel’s Richard via Pexels*

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**Sources**

– USA TODAY, *McDonald’s is using AI to price your Big Mac*
– Reuters, *Inside McDonald’s push to have AI price your Big Mac*
– AP News, *McDonald’s sued over AI-enhanced pricing tool*
– The Guardian, *McDonald’s sued for allegedly using AI tool to determine pricing*
– CNBC, *Inside McDonald’s push to have AI price your Big Mac*
– Los Angeles Times, *McDonald’s sued over AI pricing tool accused of raising menu prices*
– Yahoo Finance, *McDonald’s AI Pricing Tool Has Been Shaping Big Mac Costs Since 2019*
– New York Post, *McDonald’s hit with lawsuit alleging AI-powered menu price-fixing*
– Wikipedia, *Dynamic pricing*

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