Can AI Help Set Your Prices? What Small Businesses Should Know

What changed

In early October 2026, a consumer filed a proposed class action in federal court in Illinois against McDonald's. The complaint alleges that an AI-assisted pricing tool McDonald's offers its U.S. franchisees uses nonpublic sales data from restaurants that may compete with each other, and that this amounts to coordinating prices in breach of antitrust law. McDonald's denies it. The company says AI does not set menu prices, that franchisees set their own prices, and that the tools are optional and do not automate, coordinate or fix prices.

The honest nuance

These are allegations in a lawsuit at an early stage. Nothing has been proven, and the case could be dismissed, settled or lost. It also helps to be clear about what the complaint is and is not about. Many businesses adjust their own prices based on their own demand, costs and what competitors publicly charge. The complaint's concern is narrower: competitors' private data allegedly flowing through a shared system that then nudges everyone's prices in the same direction. Whether that is unlawful depends on the facts and the jurisdiction, and it is what the court will have to decide.

Why it matters for your business

Pricing tools with AI features are now offered to restaurants, retailers, landlords, hotels and service businesses of all sizes, often as part of software you already pay for. Most owners never ask where the tool's suggestions come from. If a tool pools data from many businesses in your area, including your competitors, and you follow its suggestions closely, you could end up in a situation you did not intend. Even without any legal risk, a tool that pushes prices up without understanding your customers can cost you loyalty that is hard to win back.

What to actually do

If you use or are considering pricing software, ask the vendor in writing: what data does it use to make suggestions, does it include private data from other businesses, and is your own sales data shared with anyone else? Treat its output as a suggestion, and make sure a person in your business makes the final pricing decision and can explain why. Keep a short record of price changes and the reasons for them. If a vendor cannot answer the data questions clearly, or you sell in a market where a few competitors use the same tool, talk to a lawyer before relying on it.

From Kindloom Labs

Before trusting any AI tool with a business decision, it helps to know where these tools are strong and where they are not. The free Quick Read What AI Can and Can't Do is a short, plain-English overview.

Sources

• McDonald's sued over AI tool that recommends prices to US franchisees (AP via WBTV)
• McDonald's faces lawsuit after denying AI price strategy (Newsweek)
• McDonald's defends its dynamic AI pricing as new lawsuit says it's nickel-and-diming consumers (TechRadar)
• McDonald's accused of using AI to drive up menu prices (Top Class Actions)