McDonald’s Sued, Accused of Using AI to Extract as Much Money Out of Customers as (In)Humanly Possible

McDonald’s was sued in federal court in Chicago over claims that an artificial intelligence pricing system lets the company and its franchisees set menu prices together, and that customers pay more because of it.

Michael Thomas, of DeKalb, Illinois, filed the proposed class action lawsuit on Oct. 2 against McDonald’s Corp. and McDonald’s USA. He wants to represent customers who bought food at the chain.

The complaint says he regularly bought the same items at different restaurants and paid different prices.

McDonald’s hit with lawsuit alleging AI-powered menu price-fixing https://t.co/bTA38Sf7VU https://t.co/fO1Zk4Zh0v

— New York Post (@nypost) October 5, 2026

The suit said about 95 percent of the roughly 14,000 U.S. McDonald’s restaurants are owned by independent fra...