McDonald’s sued over using AI and coordinating menu prices

A class-action lawsuit has been filed in a Chicago court against McDonald’s, alleging the fast-food chain is illegally coordinating menu prices across its more than 14,000 US locations.

An Illinois resident filed the case on behalf of potentially millions of customers. The complaint alleges that McDonald’s works with franchisees to influence prices and uses an AI-powered pricing system backed by data from millions of daily transactions.

The lawsuit claims the company’s practices violate US antitrust laws by allowing McDonald’s and its franchisees to coordinate pricing using nonpublic data.

McDonald’s disputes those allegations. The company says AI does not determine menu prices and that individual franchisees remain responsible for setting their own prices. It also said data analytics tools are widely used across industries.

The case comes as companies face increasing scrutiny over pricing technology. Similar lawsuits have targeted businesses accused of using algorithms or shared data to coordinate prices for products and services, including food, hotel rooms and apartment rentals.