McDonald’s uses AI pricing engine to set menu prices based on “customer willingness to pay”

HERE WE GO 🚨 AI powered Dynamic Pricing comes to McDonald’s

McDonald’s is using an AI-powered pricing engine to help determine menu prices based on transaction data and “customer willingness to pay”

The AI engine doesn’t just look at McDonald’s sales. It also scrapes public menu prices from nearby Burger King and Wendy’s and folds those into the “optimal price.”

The algorithms estimate “customer willingness to pay” at each restaurant and according to Reuters, store franchise owners say the company pressures them to use AI pricing tools

“McDonald’s pricing engine uses machine-learning algorithms to continually analyze data from millions of daily transactions across McDonald’s nearly 14,000 restaurants and generate what the company calls “the optimal price” at each location for each menu item” – Reuters

It’s a big difference

2 McDonald’s locations just 2 miles apart in Fresno, California were selling the same Big Mac for $5.69 vs $6.89. That’s a 21% difference

The franchisee dashboard literally grades stores on how much locals will tolerate: “Your restaurant is showing MEDIUM SENSITIVITY to Price” based on “customer willingness to pay in your area.”