Post by @spaghettiwestern@sh.itjust.works

@spaghettiwestern@sh.itjust.works

2026-09-30 00:23 UTC

McDonald's is reportedly using AI to "dynamically" price its burgers 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.

Replies (18)

@RedGreenBlue@lemmy.zip 2026-09-30 03:30

This stuff will drive people out of stores.

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@bdot@lemmy.world 2026-09-30 03:44

McDoubled in price

Open ##4948843
@GreenBeard@lemmy.ca 2026-09-30 02:43

Anyone with any sense and other options stopped eating there a long time ago. I feel bad for those who literally live where there’s no other viable option, mostly because it will rapidly make the last possible option non-viable. I have zero sympathy for those with good alternatives that don’t walk away. The company ran its course. Let it burn.

Open ##4949052
@chunes@lemmy.world 2026-09-30 04:07

So if I have no income, dynamic pricing will set the price to free, right?

Open ##4949210
@Brkdncr@lemmy.world 2026-09-30 02:02

Can someone smarter than me explain what end game dynamic pricing looks like? I feel like supply/demand will move the price of essentials up as wealthy people buy items at higher prices. It eill be easier for a company to make 200 roles of toilet paper a year and sell them for $10k as an extreme example.

Open ##4949239
@mctoasterson@reddthat.com 2026-09-30 01:28

My house is literally a 3 minute walk from a McDonalds and I don’t eat there at any price. Use AI to model that, fuckers.

Open ##4949558
@xenomor@lemmy.world 2026-09-30 04:30

I cannot get over the fact that McDonalds charged me $7.50 for a sausage egg biscuit with cheese the other day.

Open ##4949782
@frustrated_phagocytosis@fedia.io 2026-09-30 01:18

How much ai they churning through for this? Is the return worth it?

Open ##4949844
@Pratai@piefed.ca 2026-09-30 00:56

It cracks me up to see all the people boycotting McDonalds over this nonsense, then they go watch AI slop on YouTube for hours.

Open ##4952044
@Miller@lemmy.world 2026-09-30 05:20

Dynamic pricing nudges the price to the maximum a customer can afford which temporarily maximises profits but creates in the mind of the customer a feeling of being relentlessly over charged and eventually and long-term they won’t come back.

Open ##4952086
@SaharaMaleikuhm@feddit.org 2026-09-30 05:48

You get to eat slop and have it priced by slop. What a time to be alive!

Open ##4953217
@SaharaMaleikuhm@feddit.org 2026-09-30 05:54

Have at it. I can’t afford that shit now, I can’t afford it after.

Open ##4953367
@Kekzkrieger@feddit.org 2026-09-30 06:00

I mean it’s peoples fault really. They let them get through with this. Shit food, shit prices, smaller portions etc and people still queue to get a burger. Unfortunately things will get shittier because people are just too careless about these things so we can’t have nice things.

Open ##4953555
@jeena@piefed.jeena.net 2026-09-30 00:37

I mean this is the obvious use case for AI, you know they have those digital price tags in supermarkets it’s perfect for this to combine with AI so depending who is looking at this price tag it changes, but in a way so you don’t see it changing. I’m not saying it’s already implemented but it’s the obvious thing to do. Online it’s already much easier to do because you’re logged in to Amazon with your purchase history, etc. and you are the only one looking at the price tag, so no real need for AI there, but in a physical shop it will also be introduced, just like McDonald is ‘pioneering’ here. They should never released Black Mirror, too many dystopian ideas there.

Open ##4953655
@Bristlecone@lemmy.world 2026-09-30 06:18

Glad I haven’t eaten their trash microplastic food in like 5 years since I found out it was our pedophile and Chief’s favorite restaurant

Open ##4953936
@Flames5123@sh.itjust.works 2026-09-30 06:35

So glad Washington state was the first state to ban AI “Surveillance Pricing” at Grocery Stores. Hopefully it expands to dynamic pricing and for all business soon.

Open ##4954650
@EmilieEasie@fedinsfw.app 2026-09-30 02:44

I’m so glad I quit going. And if I quit going, pretty much everyone has I had one of those less than stellar childhoods, but I had a fantastic grandparent that would take me to McDonald’s sometimes, and that was A HUGE BRIGHT SPOT for me, back when they had aquariums and play places in them? Like, until pretty recently, I was a die-hard fan. I WANTED to like them. What they actually tasted like almost didn’t matter, the SIGHT of the yellow arches made me start to think about what being loved by a trusted adult feels like. They had to WORK TO LOSE ME as a customer rather than the other way around. And they still managed.

Open ##4954802
@belochka@lemmy.world 2026-09-30 06:55

So. Say what you want about Russian racketeer government’s practices, the former local franchise called “Vkusno i tochka” doesn’t do this. Does feel bland other than their fish burger though. I’ve read Burger King is considered bad in the USA, in Russia it’s kinda fine.

Open ##4955325