McDonald's sued over AI pricing tool; denial criticized as semantics
DavidLinthicum · x · 2026-10-18
McDonald's is being sued over allegations that it used an AI-powered pricing tool to help set menu prices across franchises, responding that franchisees — not AI — "set" prices. David Linthicum argues the denial is beside the point: AI is increasingly embedded in pricing optimization platforms, analytics, recommendation engines and franchise management tools. If you pay for software that analyzes massive transaction data and recommends prices, AI is part of the pricing process — and narrow semantic denials are where companies get into trouble.
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