The FCA has launched a review into the implications of advanced AI on consumers, retail financial markets and regulators.

The review will be led by Sheldon Mills and builds on the FCA's existing work on AI. This includes its AI Discussion Paper, AI Sprint, and AI Lab including AI Live Testing and its Sandbox supported by NVIDIA.

The FCA highlights that AI is already embedded across financial services. Rapid advances in generative, agentic and emerging forms of AI mean the next phase of change could be profound, having the power to reshape markets, change the way firms compete and how consumers use retail financial services.

The FCA is seeking views on four interrelated themes:

• How AI could evolve in the future, including the development of more autonomous and agentic systems.
• How these developments could affect markets and firms, including changes to competition and market structure and UK competitiveness.
• The impact on consumers, including how consumers will be influenced by AI, but also influence financial markets through new expectations.
• How financial regulators may need to evolve to continue ensuring that retail financial markets work well.

While wholesale markets and broader societal impacts are out of scope, the review recognises that developments in these areas may indirectly influence retail financial services and will be considered where relevant. The FCA is also separately doing extensive work on the impact of AI in wholesale markets, especially through our live testing partnership.

Feedback will shape a series of recommendations to be reported to the FCA Board in summer 2026, informing how the FCA can guide and respond to AI-driven transformation. This will culminate in an external publication. However, the FCA has already said that it does not plan to introduce AI-specific regulation. It will continue to rely on its existing, principles-based regulatory framework while considering how regulators need to evolve as AI becomes more embedded in financial services.

The review follows the recent report from the Treasury Select Committee, which said that the major public financial institutions, including the FCA, which are responsible for protecting consumers and maintaining stability in the UK economy, are not doing enough to manage the risks presented by the increased use of AI in the financial services sector.

The deadline for comments is 24 February 2026.