McDonald's is reportedly using AI to "dynamically" price its burgers, there's now an official US government AI chatbot, and OpenAI rolled out Dots, its new personal agents

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McDonald's is reportedly using AI to dynamically price its burgers.

There's now an official US government AI chatbot.

And DOTS are OpenAI's new personal agents, and soon you'll be able to control several of them. What could possibly go wrong?

It's Wednesday, September 30th, and here's a quick look at some of the news happening in the sphere of AI this morning from Engadget.

McDonald's has been using artificial intelligence to dynamically price menu items in the US and some global markets. That's according to a report by Reuters.

This involves finding the optimal price to match what a particular store's patrons would be willing to pay. This fluctuates according to location, and even stores in the same city can have a different cost amounts for the same exact items, according to information reviewed by Reuters. This is basically surge pricing, like when rideshare platforms, but for hockey puck burgers that have been sitting under a hot lamp. Reuters got a look at the interface that franchisees use to access this technology, and it's pretty creepy. Messages show stuff like, Your restaurant is showing medium sensitivity to price based on customer willingness to pay in your area. Cost differences at nearby locations can be stark. Researchers found that a Big Mac at a Fresno, California store cost $5.69, but the same burger cost $6.89 at another branch two miles down the road. That is a 21% difference. McDonald's says that franchisees are free to set their own prices. This could be true in theory, but a handful of store owners told Reuters that the company pressures them to use the new AI tools. A corporate document reviewed by the publication showed that McDonald's tracks adherence to the platform and noted any deviations from the algorithm's price recommendations. The company has begun requiring franchisees to be constructively engaging with McDonald's approved pricing consultant and tools as part of its new business standards. This is according to internal communication sent to franchisees. Company documents reportedly show that McDonald's sends AI pricing guidance to franchisees at least three times a year.

The US government now has its own AI chatbot. America.gov is an interface for people to ask natural language questions about information and services from federal agencies. The chatbot's web page states that it uses AI to get simple answers only from official government sources. While it currently is just a way to sort through openly available information, the platform is intended to offer users more actions next year, such as enrolling in Medicare, applying for a passport, or finding employment with the federal government. A new executive order further directs administrative leaders to establish and operate America.gov as a single point of entry for Americans to access covered services online and to integrate login.gov with America.gov. According to its privacy policy, the chatbot will not retain a person's search history or messages, and will not use their precise GPS location. It also claims to help prevent you from sharing personal information before you send it, and does not require an account to use. The site did not add any details about how it will reconcile those privacy claims with the goal of handling tasks that rely entirely on citizens' personal data. The fact sheet from the White House did not specify which AI business it worked with to develop the chatbot, but the tool runs at least partially on Google's Gemini platform. The tech company confirmed that it is a technology partner for the project, and that Gemini is part of the America.gov operation.

OpenAI's AI agents have landed it in hot water in recent weeks, so naturally, the company is releasing agents nearly everyone can use to carry out tasks with minimal supervision. At its Dev Day event in San Francisco, the company announced DOTS. OpenAI is pitching DOTS as proactive, always on AI systems that can chip away at tasks for you every hour of the day. With access to OpenAI's ecosystem of plug-ins, DOTS can interact with more than 4,000 apps. Additionally, new integrations with Slack and Microsoft Teams mean you can converse with your DOT outside of ChatGPT and the company's Codex and Work apps. It's also possible to connect DOTS to your own PC, allowing them to control it on your behalf and work alongside you. At launch, pro, business, premium, and enterprise users in select markets will get access to one primary DOT, which you can name and customize. In the future, OpenAI envisions giving users the ability to control teams of DOTs. OpenAI gives a few different examples of how people might use its new agents. For instance, a scientist might task their DOT with integrating new data into a paper as they collected through lab tests. Likewise, a developer could use their DOT to collect feedback from users of their app or service, and then tasks the agent with writing bug fixes and new features in response to those requests. Given OpenAI's recent security track record, the company is keen to highlight the safety features it has built into DOTs. When signing into websites, the company says they can use your saved passwords without exposing them to the underlying model. OpenAI has also integrated safeguards into their proactive research feature, which is what allows DOTs to complete tasks for you in the background. When it comes to using your apps and services, you can manage a DOTs permissions through ChatGPT's existing app controls. OpenAI is rolling out DOTs in select markets to pro and business premium subscribers. As a pro or business premium user, your first DOT is free. You can chat with it as much as you want inside of ChatGPT, though usage limits in codecs and work apply as normal.