McDonald’s sued over AI pricing tool used with franchisees

The lawsuit alleges that McDonald’s coordinated prices across franchise and company-owned restaurants through an AI-powered system.[3] It says the pricing tool shares nonpublic data among franchisees who may compete in the same market, including store-level sales information.[1] The complaint also alleges that the engine links one restaurant’s price increases to whether other McDonald’s restaurants have raised prices on the same item.[2] These are claims in the complaint; McDonald’s disputes the lawsuit’s accuracy.[1]

According to the complaint, McDonald’s has operated a centralized machine-learning pricing engine since at least 2019.[2] It allegedly processes data from millions of daily transactions and generates menu-price recommendations for individual restaurants.[2] McDonald’s says recommendations draw on a store’s sales and location, as well as other factors such as competitors’ prices.[1] The complaint alleges the company pressured franchisees to use the tools and required its approved pricing consultant and tools beginning in January 2026.[2]

McDonald’s says its pricing tools are optional and do not automate, coordinate or fix prices.[1] The company called the lawsuit inaccurate and said it would vigorously defend itself.[1] It also said franchisees own and operate 95% of its 14,000 U.S. stores, and that it has used an AI-enhanced pricing tool for more than a decade.[1] Those statements offer the company’s account of the tool and its use; they do not resolve the complaint’s allegations.

The case was filed on October 2, 2026, as a proposed nationwide class action on behalf of Michael Thomas, a McDonald’s customer from DeKalb, Illinois.[2][3][1] Daniel Linna Jr. raised the question of how antitrust law applies when algorithms behave collusively without the parties agreeing.[1] McDonald’s has also been experimenting with value strategies as it tries to win back lower-income consumers.[1] For professionals assessing the case, the distinction between the complaint’s claims and the company’s response is central.