The UK Competition and Markets Authority has released a report on “agentic AI,” systems that act on a consumer’s behalf for activities such as shopping or insurance hunting. While the technology promises convenience and cost savings, the CMA flags a range of risks, including biased recommendations, hallucinated information, over‑reliance, algorithmic pricing collusion, data‑privacy concerns, and lock‑in to closed ecosystems. The regulator stresses that businesses remain fully responsible for outcomes, and calls for transparent practices, strong interoperability standards, secure digital identities, and clear consumer consent mechanisms before the market fully embraces autonomous digital assistants. Read more →