路透社周二报道称，麦当劳正在使用人工智能定价引擎，为其近14000家餐厅的每一款菜单商品建议售价。该引擎覆盖了美国及部分海外市场。该引擎权衡的一个因素是对每家门店顾客愿意支付金额的估计。
McDonald’s is using an AI pricing engine to recommend what each of its nearly 14,000 restaurants should charge for every menu item, Reuters reported on Tuesday. The engine covers the US and some markets abroad. One factor the engine weighs is an estimate of how much each store’s customers are willing to pay.
韦伦·坎宁安（Waylon Cunningham）为路透社报道了这一调查。他查阅了8月份拍摄的定价引擎截图，并采访了9位对该连锁店策略有第一手了解的人士。
Waylon Cunningham reported the investigation for Reuters. He reviewed screenshots of the pricing engine taken in August and interviewed nine people with first-hand knowledge of the chain’s strategy.
该引擎利用机器学习算法分析每日数百万次交易的数据。它为每个地点的每种商品（从巨无霸到面向老年人的折扣咖啡）生成麦当劳所谓的“最佳价格”。据路透社报道，麦当劳至少从2019年起就开始使用某种形式的人工智能定价工具。
The engine uses machine-learning algorithms to analyse data from millions of daily transactions. It produces what McDonald’s calls “the optimal price” for each item at each location, from Big Macs to discounted coffee for seniors. McDonald’s has used some form of AI pricing tool since at least 2019, according to Reuters.
一个巨无霸售价5.69美元，还是6.89美元？三位加盟商告诉路透社，该引擎拉大了各家餐厅之间的价格差距，甚至在同一地区的两个街区之间也是如此。该平台还提取附近温迪（Wendy’s）和汉堡王（Burger King）餐厅在线菜单上的价格。
A Big Mac for $5.69, or $6.89 Three franchisees told Reuters the engine has widened price gaps between restaurants, even between neighbourhoods in the same area. The platform also pulls prices from the online menus of nearby Wendy’s and Burger King restaurants. “Your restaurant is showing MEDIUM SENSITIVITY to Price,” reads one screenshot of the interface reviewed by Reuters.
路透社查阅的一个界面截图显示：“您的餐厅对价格表现出中等敏感度。”
Reuters checked prices on the McDonald’s app in September.
路透社在9月份核对过麦当劳应用程序上的价格。加利福尼亚州弗雷斯诺的一家公司直营店以5.69美元的价格出售一个巨无霸。两英里外的另一家公司直营餐厅收费6.89美元，溢价高达21%。路透社无法确认是否是该引擎造成了这一差距。
A company-run store in Fresno, California, sold a Big Mac for $5.69. Another company-run restaurant two miles away charged $6.89, a 21% premium. Reuters could not confirm whether the engine caused the gap. The engine is run by Tiger Analytics, two of its former employees told Reuters.
该引擎由Tiger Analytics运营，其两名员工告诉路透社。他们表示，麦当劳制定了规则，例如将冰淇淋和饮料排除在夏季涨价之外。Tiger Analytics拒绝置评。“价格不合规”麦当劳表示，加盟商可以自由设定自己的价格。五位店主告诉路透社，该公司向他们施压，要求他们使用人工智能工具。路透社报道称，6月份的一份加盟商文件显示，麦当劳详细记录了店主偏离其建议的情况。
McDonald’s set its rules, they said, such as excluding ice creams and drinks from summer price rises. Tiger Analytics declined to comment. ‘Pricing non-compliance’McDonald’s says franchisees are free to set their own prices. Five store owners told Reuters the company pressured them to use the AI tools. A June franchisee document shows McDonald’s records in detail when owners deviate from its recommendations, Reuters reported.
自1月以来，麦当劳的业务标准要求加盟商“与麦当劳批准的定价顾问及工具进行建设性互动”。今年8月，首席执行官克里斯·坎普钦斯基（Chris Kempczinski）在审视加盟商时向投资者表示，“在某些情况下，不遵守定价规定也是这些对话的一部分”。
Since January, McDonald’s business standards have required franchisees to be “constructively engaging with McDonald’s approved Pricing Consultant and Tools”. In August, chief executive Chris Kempczinski told investors that “pricing non-compliance in certain cases is part of those conversations” when the company reviews franchisees.
去年夏天退休的前加盟商凯伦·金（Karen King）对路透社表示：“你其实已经没有多少选择了。”
“You don’t really have much of a choice anymore,” Karen King, a former franchisee who retired last summer, told Reuters.
该门户网站的条款警告称，所有者“可能是彼此的竞争对手”，并且必须遵守反垄断法和竞争法。美国联邦贸易委员会（FTC）前委员威廉·科瓦契奇（William Kovacic）将这种表述称作是“承认存在潜在问题”。麦当劳表示，该公司一向严肃对待反垄断合规问题。
The portal’s terms warn that owners “may be competitors of each other” and must comply with antitrust and competition laws. William Kovacic, a former Federal Trade Commission commissioner, called that language “an acknowledgment there’s a potential problem”. McDonald’s said it takes antitrust compliance seriously.
麦当劳在谈到该门户网站时表示：“它是一个工具，而不是强制规定，旨在提供针对餐厅的具体建议，以帮助加盟商为顾客提供价值并做出明智的商业决策。”
“A tool, not a mandate, designed to provide restaurant-specific recommendations to help franchisees deliver value for customers and make informed business decisions,” McDonald’s said of the portal.
该公司称路透社的报道“具有推测性且缺乏根据”。周一，沃尔玛首席执行官在一封致客户的信中排除了个性化定价的可能性。各大航空公司也在利用人工智能进行动态定价。麦当劳还在其汽车餐厅（drive-thru）中单独测试人工智能语音。
The company called the Reuters reporting “speculative and uninformed”. On Monday, Walmart’s chief executive ruled out personalised pricing in a letter to customers. Airlines are also using AI for dynamic pricing. McDonald’s is separately testing an AI voice at its drive-thrus.