The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has launched a new review to examine how advanced artificial intelligence (AI) could transform retail financial services, markets and regulatory oversight.
Known as the Mills Review, the work will be led by Sheldon Mills and builds on the FCA’s existing activity around AI.
The FCA said AI is already widely embedded across financial services, but rapid advances in generative, agentic and emerging forms of AI mean the next phase of change could be more significant.
It said these developments have the potential to reshape markets, alter competition between firms and change how consumers engage with retail financial services.
Mills said the review would take a long-term view of how AI could influence the sector.
A McKinsey report from last year outlined how “agentic commerce” could reshape shopping and payments, with software agents anticipating needs, comparing options, negotiating price and completing transactions on behalf of consumers.
McKinsey estimates the US B2C retail market could see up to $1 trillion in orchestrated revenue by 2030, with a global opportunity of $3 trillion to $5 trillion.
Regulator seeking feedback on AI
“AI is already shaping financial services, but its longer-term effects may be more far-reaching,” he said. “This review will consider how emerging uses of AI could influence consumers, markets and firms, looking towards 2030 and beyond.
“By taking a forward-looking view, the review will help the FCA continue to support innovation while promoting the safe and trusted adoption of AI in retail financial services.”
The regulator is seeking feedback across four connected themes.
These include how AI could evolve in the future, particularly through the development of more autonomous and agentic systems.
It will also examine how those developments could affect markets and firms, including impacts on competition, market structure and the UK’s competitiveness.
A further area of focus is the impact on consumers, both in terms of how AI may influence consumer behaviour and how changing consumer expectations could, in turn, shape financial markets.
The review will also consider how financial regulators may need to adapt to ensure retail financial markets continue to function effectively.
The FCA said that while wholesale markets and wider societal impacts are outside the formal scope of the review, related developments may still be considered where they indirectly influence retail financial services.
It added that it is carrying out separate work on AI in wholesale markets, including through its live testing partnership.
Findings from the review will inform a set of recommendations to be presented to the FCA board in the summer.
These will guide how the regulator responds to AI-driven change in retail financial services and will be followed by an external publication.
The deadline for comments is February 24, 2026. Submissions can be sent to [email protected].
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