AI may change the price of your Big Mac and groceries — what this means for shoppers

People pick up their menu inside the McDonald's restaurant in Times Square, Manhattan, on Sept. 29, 2026, in New York City.

KHemaz | GVN | Getty Images

Fast-food giants and supermarkets are rolling out a range of AI tools that could affect the prices shoppers pay, but experts warn the spread of data-driven tools could make personalized pricing easier to deploy.

Just this week, a federal antitrust lawsuit filed against McDonald's alleged the fast food giant uses an AI-powered "pricing engine" to set menu prices across U.S. locations and overcharge customers for Big Macs and fries.

McDonald's has denied that it's using AI to determine what individual customers are willing to pay and said it provides its franchisees with "tools, resources, research and recommendations to help them make informed decisions."

Even so, food businesses globally are increasingly digitizing operations with AI. Earlier this year, American grocery chain Kroger said it's using an AI platform called FlashFood to mark down perishables nearing the end of their shelf life and marketing them to shoppers via an app.

Meanwhile, electronic shelf labels (ESLs), which display the price of items in store on digital screens, are becoming increasingly popular at supermarkets like Kroger, Amazon Fresh, Walmart, and Whole Foods.

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The technology is also gaining traction among U.K. supermarkets such as Tesco, Morrisons, and Asda. More recently, global financial platform Revolut trialed facial recognition checkout in select coffee shops, allowing customers to pay with just a glance.

CNBC reached out to Amazon Fresh, Whole Foods, Tesco, Morrisons, Asda and Revolut for comment on the use of AI but didn't immediately hear back.

As AI use becomes normalized among retailers, experts warn that this could lead to more dynamic pricing, which refers to frequent, rapid real-time changes in prices that could dramatically affect shoppers' experiences.