8 Ways McDonald's Will Be Changing In 2026

McDonald's has not grown into the leader of the fast food chain game by resting on its laurels. Instead, the company has remained at the forefront of innovation and creativity when it comes to marketing, value, and customer experience for more than 80 years. In 2025, the chain made some huge menu changes, and it's now entering a new era. In 2026, customers may notice that it looks, feels, and operates differently than it does today.

Between massive expansions, A.I. integrations, and menu item changes, the chain is combining the core values that have allowed it to grow since 1940 with genius innovations to ring in the new and improved era of the Golden Arches. McDonald's is committing to its goal of having the fastest period of growth in the company's history with a clear strategy: Streamline operations, refocus on value, and invest in innovation as well as brand familiarity. Here are the eight major changes you can expect to see from McDonald's in 2026.

McDonald's, like many other fast food companies, has made headlines throughout the past year for skyrocketing prices amid increased inflation, higher operating costs, and the controversial minimum wage hike to $20. In one example, a customer shared that his Big Mac combo meal cost a whopping $18. The post sparked outrage from people online and began conversations over fast food prices getting out of control.

Customers noticed that prices vary greatly by location, because the chain operates on a franchised model in which franchise owners can adjust pricing. In response to the concern, beginning January 1, 2026, McDonald's is rolling out new standards that will keep franchise owners accountable for more standardized meal prices. This coincides with the chain's focus on value meals, to bring low-income customers back into its stores. McDonald's is investing in pricing tools and consultants, so that franchisees can make more informed decisions on how to price the products sold in their restaurants. This will ideally avoid any more outrageously overpriced meals labeled as "value" items.

In the December 2023 investor meeting, McDonald's rolled out several goals for the global chain, including a major push towards a total of 50,000 restaurants by 2027. The chain currently has over 40,000 locations worldwide, and McDonald's CEO, Chris Kempczinski, announced plans to open 8,000 new store locations globally in 2026. This huge push for expansion will mark the fastest period of growth in the company's history.

The expansion will include roughly 900 locations in the U.S., while the remaining 7,100 locations will be opened in other countries to capitalize on international markets. The expansion plans were first announced in 2023, with Kempczinski saying, "there has never been a better time to be a part of McDonald's" (via The Sun). The expansion is in line with the company's goals to increase revenue by between $300-$500 million per year through 2027.

Like many other growing companies, McDonald's is looking towards technological advancements to improve efficiency and customer experience at its locations. According to McDonald's CEO, Chris Kempczinski (via Technology Magazine), the chain is partnering with Google to examine the best ways to "use AI to deliver an even better experience for our customers and for our crew members." The company hopes that these A.I. integrations will help employees manage the constant influx of mobile, drive-thru, in-store, and delivery orders while maintaining an efficient flow of service.

Additionally, this tech rollout will involve A.I.integrations on kitchen appliances, such as fryers and ice cream machines, including sensors that will proactively notify workers of maintenance and system errors. So you can say goodbye to the era of broken McFlurry machines. McDonald's previously attempted to partner with IBM, to integrate A.I. to improve drive-thru efficiency, using automated ordering systems, but it was shut down following a slew of incorrect orders. Now, the company is refocusing on effective tech integrations through the partnership with Google Cloud, and is confident that the wealth of information gathered from the thousands of locations worldwide using cloud technology will allow it to better implement automated solutions that will be impactful for managers, employees, and customers alike.

In May 2025, the U.S. Treasury halted penny production, resulting in a penny shortage. In November 2025, McDonald's reacted to the shortage with a rounding system for its customers who paid in cash. For those customers who did not have exact change, the total price of their meals was rounded to the nearest five cents. This means some cash customers would pay a few cents more or less for their items, but menu items did not change in price. The penny production halt accelerated a push towards card payments, which is in line with the natural decline of cash payments in general.

While the penny shortage certainly created urgency around the emphasis on card payments, which is aligned with the company's broader strategy to expand digital integrations to make ordering faster and more efficient for customers. Customers who pay with a card, especially through the mobile ordering systems, will find it's the most streamlined payment option.

McDonald's already has one of the largest loyalty programs in the world, offering members tons of rewards and value items, including free fries, Big Macs, and McChickens as you earn points. Based on the rapid growth of the loyalty program and an obvious preference for online ordering from a large portion of its customer base, McDonald's aims to expand its loyalty program significantly in 2026.

Specifically, it announced plans to expand by 250 million 90-day active users and $45 billion in systemwide sales by 2027. This goes hand-in-hand with plans to improve the mobile ordering experience and move away from cash payments. The loyalty program will continue to be easily integrated into all forms of ordering: Drive-thru orders, ready-for-pickup orders, in-store kiosk orders, and regular walk-up orders. With more information coming in through the A.I. integrations and mobile ordering improvements, the store aims to streamline the ordering process as much as possible for customers.

To go hand-in-hand with the loyalty program expansion, McDonald's has plans to enhance the mobile ordering process. The company expects to see 30% of delivery orders come from the mobile app by 2027. It will continue to expand its "Ready on Arrival" plan across more markets, which it started pushing in 2025. This initiative aims to have employees prepare mobile orders before customers arrive at the store to improve efficiency and customer experience.

Additionally, McDonald's is rolling out tech integrations that will help improve operational efficiency. Two such improvements are the Orders 2.0 system and the Global Mobile App (GMA). These systems are built to help support the scale of mobile orders that each restaurant receives every day. It tracks things like response time and error rate, to improve efficiency and get customers hot, fresh food as fast as possible, while eliminating roadblocks. McDonald's might not want you to know all of its secrets, but the company does want its customers to be aware of just how simple it is to order online.

McDonald's has come to be one of the leaders in drive-thru innovation and efficiency. Drive-thru orders make up about 70% of all business at McDonald's, and this figure is expected to continually increase as mobile ordering becomes a more popular choice for consumers. To continue improving the efficiency through which customers can order and receive their food, the chain is making improvements to the drive-thru experience in 2026. Namely, it is implementing what is known as the "fast lane", which will be an additional lane added to the drive-thru that will allow customers who order online ahead of time to bypass the line. 

Additionally, the company also plans to implement A.I. features here, to improve the customer experience as well. This includes the integration of digital menus and automated ordering systems. The digital ordering systems allow the store to instantly switch menu items, like switching from the breakfast to lunch menu in real time. These systems use A.I. to strategically promote certain items based on trends. For instance, it might recommend cold beverages on a hot day.

In addition to the expansion plans and many technology integrations to make the ordering process more efficient for customers, the fast food giant is also dedicated to a "Commit to the Core" approach. CEO Chris Kempczinski explained in an interview (via The Street) that while innovation is integral to growth, "Our core menu remains at the heart of our business," so the company will continue to improve the staples that customers love: Chicken and burgers.

The Best Burger initiative, which involves making small tweaks to the way the beef products at McDonald's are prepared to deliver higher quality, delicious Big Macs and other burgers, is aimed to be rolled out in every McDonald's store by the end of 2026. And because chicken is now on par with beef sales, the company also wants to capitalize on consumer interest with the return of the snack wrap in 2025, cashing in on the positivity surrounding the new chicken strips and other popular McDonald's chicken sandwiches. You may even see some of McDonald's most iconic snacks make a comeback.