A customer who pays more for lunch today may decide to eat somewhere else tomorrow. Restaurant operators investing in AI-assisted pricing need to account for that possibility alongside food costs, sales forecasts and competitor prices. The debate over McDonald’s pricing technology puts that challenge in practical terms. Estimating what customers will pay can help operators make informed decisions, but the best price for a restaurant also depends on visit frequency, perceived value and the profitability of serving those customers over time. A September 29 Reuters investigation described a machine-learning engine that analyzes millions of daily transactions across nearly 14,000 U.S. McDonald’s restaurants to recommend menu prices. Screenshots reviewed by Reuters showed that the system considers local price sensitivity, estimated willingness to pay and publicly available competitor prices. McDonald’s subsequently published a response stating that the tool provides recommendations and franchisees independently determine their prices. The company also said it does [...]