McDonald’s uses AI to recommend prices. Franchisees decide

McDonald’s uses artificial intelligence to recommend product prices for individual restaurants, according to dlahandlu.pl, citing reporting by Reuters. However, the final decision remains with the franchise restaurant owner. For Poland’s franchise community, this raises questions about the limits of technological support and the independence of business owners. The cited report does not confirm that the tool is used in Poland.

The algorithm suggests prices for individual restaurants

According to an article published by dlahandlu.pl on 1 October 2026, the system used by McDonald’s analyses data from millions of transactions made each day across almost 14,000 restaurants in the chain. It uses this information to recommend prices for specific products at individual outlets. Examples mentioned include the Big Mac, fries and coffee.

This is an important distinction: the tool described does not propose a single price for every location. Its recommendations are tailored to each restaurant. One factor it considers is the estimated willingness of customers in a particular region to pay a given amount. The algorithm also takes competitors into account, using publicly available information from online menus, including those of Wendy’s and Burger King.

The account does not, however, suggest that the system sets an individual price for each person placing an order. It describes recommendations for restaurants and assessments of willingness to pay at a regional level. The tool should therefore not be confused with a system that sets a separate price based on an individual customer’s profile.

Franchisees have the final say

McDonald’s stresses that the algorithm does not set prices independently. According to the chain, the final decision rests with the franchise restaurant owner. The system is intended to support that decision by offering a suggestion tailored to the outlet, rather than automatically taking over pricing decisions from the business owner.

For the franchise community, the key issue is therefore the division of responsibilities: the tool analyses data and makes recommendations, while the franchisee decides. Using AI does not, in itself, mean that responsibility for choosing prices is handed over to technology. In the account cited by dlahandlu.pl, the chain clearly distinguishes an advisory function from an automated pricing mechanism.

However, the report does not explain in detail how restaurant owners receive recommendations, what reasoning accompanies them or how often the suggestions are updated. Nor does it say to what extent franchisees follow the system’s recommendations. The available information is therefore insufficient to assess how much influence the tool actually has on individual owners’ day-to-day decisions.

The same caution is needed when interpreting the scale of the data analysed. Millions of transactions illustrate the breadth of information used by the system, but do not, on their own, prove that every recommendation is effective or that it brings financial benefits to a particular restaurant.

Greater price variation does not just mean increases

Reuters reports that price differences between McDonald’s restaurants have widened with the use of the system. Differences can be seen even between outlets in the same area. This is an observation about prices across the chain’s restaurants, not confirmation that each customer receives a personalised bill.

At the same time, the recommendations described do not exclusively favour higher prices. According to Reuters, the system’s recommendations have recently become more cautious, and in some cases the tool has suggested price cuts. The available report does not specify the size of those reductions or how many restaurants received such suggestions.

Nor does it provide data establishing the system’s impact on sales, profitability or how often customers visit. The term ‘optimal price’, used to describe the recommendations, should therefore be understood as the tool’s objective rather than a proven business outcome. The report provides no basis for concluding that franchisees are guaranteed revenue growth.

Questions for those considering franchising in Poland

The information cited does not establish that the system described is operating in McDonald’s restaurants in Poland. Nor does it include data on price changes in the Polish market. Its relevance to Poland’s franchise community lies primarily in illustrating a specific use of AI to support restaurant owners’ decisions.

For anyone assessing a franchise opportunity, this is a useful starting point for questions about analytical tools. It is worth asking whether a suggested price is purely a recommendation, who approves a price change and whether the business owner receives an explanation of the reasoning behind the suggestion. How to check whether an adopted recommendation actually benefits the outlet is a separate issue that also needs discussion.

Practical takeaway: when discussing technology in franchising, establish not only what data the system analyses, but also who makes the final decision. In the case described, McDonald’s says that responsibility lies with the franchisee; the available report does not confirm that this solution has been introduced in Poland.