UK competition regulator issues guidance on AI agents and consumer law

The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA), the UK competition regulator, has published guidance describing how businesses can gain from agentic AI without breaching their legal duties. The page adds that the CMA has also released research and analysis on how agentic AI is used now and may be used later.

The CMA says AI could lift economic growth and improve daily life, and that it is committed to encouraging adoption. It says AI agents can help businesses in several ways, for example by engaging with customers or processing refunds. The guidance is aimed at businesses that use such agents to deal with their customers.

The central message is about responsibility. The CMA states that if an AI agent a business uses does something illegal, the business is responsible. It stresses the importance of training agents properly so that they comply with consumer protection law. The document explains how a firm can use agentic AI in dealings with customers while obeying the law and treating them fairly.

The page also reports a related step by regulators. On 30 October 2026, members of the Digital Regulation Cooperation Forum issued a shared statement about safeguarding people and firms in an economy of AI agents. It describes work already under way at the CMA, FCA, ICO and Ofcom, both separately and jointly. It also describes how the regulators will keep collaborating, including with government, as personal AI agents become more widely used, and how current legal and regulatory frameworks cover these agents.