McDonald's Uses AI to Price Up or Down Big Macs Based on Customer Location
McDonald's has rolled out an AI-powered pricing system to determine how much customers should pay for a Big Mac. The system uses data from millions of transactions to generate what McDonald's calls 'the optimal price'.
The report suggests that this could lead to cheaper burgers in lower-income areas, but also potentially higher prices in wealthier neighborhoods.
Reuters claims to have seen screenshots of the company's pricing engine and interviewed several sources with first-hand knowledge. The system reportedly widens existing price differences for the same product between restaurants within the same area.
McDonald's said its franchisees are allowed to set their own prices, but five restaurants told Reuters that the burger brand pressured them to use the AI-pricing tools.