this post was submitted on 30 Sep 2026
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McDonald's is reportedly using AI to "dynamically" price its burgers (www.engadget.com)
submitted 9 hours ago* (last edited 9 hours ago) by spaghettiwestern@sh.itjust.works to c/technology@lemmy.world
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McDonald's has been using artificial intelligence to dynamically price menu items in the US and some global markets, according to a report by Reuters. This involves finding the "optimal price" to match what a particular store's patrons would be willing to pay.

This fluctuates according to location, and even stores in the same city can have different cost amounts for the same exact items, according to information reviewed by Reuters. This is basically surge pricing, like with ride-share platforms, but for hockey puck burgers that have been sitting under a hot lamp.

Reuters got a look at the interface that franchisees use to access this technology and it's pretty creepy. Messages show stuff like "your restaurant is showing MEDIUM SENSITIVITY to price" based on "customer willingness to pay in your area." Cost differences at nearby locations can be stark. Researchers found that a Bic Mac at a Fresno, California store cost $5.69, but the same burger cost $6.89 at another branch two miles down the road. That's a 21 percent difference.

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[–] boonhet@lemmy.zip 2 points 3 hours ago

Categorisation and such models are wayyyyyy cheaper to train and run than LLMs. And the training data is just their own price and sales history by location, nothing to scrape the whole Internet or scan unknown books for. This costs them very little at their scale.

That said, their dynamic pricing would have to halve the prices to get me to go again. Because the price of a big tasty meal is nearly twice what a double bug tasty meal was 6 or 7 years ago. Beef has also nearly doubled, but the other ingredients have not.