McDonald's AI Tells Franchisees What to Charge for a Big Mac
McDonald's AI Tells Franchisees What to Charge for a Big Mac Here's a thought experiment that isn't one: the price of your Big Mac gets set by an algorithm that has already worked out exactly what your zip code will stomach. That, at least, is what a Reuters investigation found inside McDonald's pricing machine — a machine-learning engine chewing through millions of daily transactions across nearly 14,000 American restaurants, spitting out what the company calls "the optimal price" for every menu item at every location. McDonald's insists none of this is happening the way it sounds. "AI does not set the price of a Big Mac or any other menu item," the company says. Its franchisees tell a different story. "You don't really have much of a choice anymore," said Karen King, a former store owner who retired from the franchise system last summer. Somebody is not telling the truth about the most eaten burger in America. Photo: A Big ...