Agentic AI and consumers—CMA publications
Commercial analysis: On 9 March 2026, the Competition & Markets Authority (CMA) published guidance titled ‘Complying with consumer law when using AI agents’, alongside research entitled ‘Agentic AI and consumers’, explaining how existing consumer protection law applies to increasingly autonomous AI systems and how businesses can use agentic AI while remaining compliant. The publications examine the shift from AI tools where consumers are responsible for decision-making to agentic systems capable of acting on a consumer’s behalf. While the CMA recognises potential benefits such as convenience and improved decision-making, it also identifies risks including manipulation through dark patterns, system errors, consumer over-reliance, algorithmic coordination between businesses, platform lock-in, and heightened data protection concerns. Businesses remain fully accountable for outcomes generated by AI systems - automation does not reduce obligations under consumer law and competition law. The CMA emphasises transparency, human oversight, and robust governance as essential to building consumer trust and demonstrating compliance. It also encourages businesses to embed consumer protection principles in system design, maintain monitoring and audit processes, clearly disclose when AI is used, and enable interoperability to reduce switching barriers. Written by Ann Maree Blake, legal director at Quastels LLP.