The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has launched a new strategic review to examine how advanced artificial intelligence could reshape retail financial services, with a particular focus on the implications for consumers, financial markets and regulators.
The initiative, known as the Mills Review, will be led by Sheldon Mills and builds on the regulator’s growing body of work on AI, including its AI Discussion Paper, AI Sprint and AI Lab, as well as live testing initiatives and the Supercharged Sandbox supported by NVIDIA.
AI is already deeply embedded across the financial services sector, from customer onboarding and fraud detection to credit scoring and personalised financial advice. However, the FCA believes that rapid developments in generative and agentic AI could drive a more profound shift in how retail financial services operate over the coming years. These technologies have the potential to transform market structures, influence competitive dynamics and fundamentally alter the way consumers interact with financial products and services.
Sheldon Mills said, “AI is already shaping financial services, but its longer-term effects may be more far-reaching. This review will consider how emerging uses of AI could influence consumers, markets and firms, looking towards 2030 and beyond.”
He added, “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 review will explore four interrelated themes that the FCA considers critical to understanding AI’s long-term impact. These include how AI technologies may evolve, particularly the development of more autonomous and agentic systems that can operate with minimal human oversight. The FCA will also assess how these changes could affect firms and markets, including potential shifts in competition, market structure and the UK’s overall competitiveness as a global financial hub.
Consumer impact is another core area of focus, with the review examining not only how AI could shape consumer behaviour and decision-making, but also how changing consumer expectations may influence financial markets. This includes the growing demand for hyper-personalised financial services, real-time support and automated financial management tools powered by AI.
The fourth theme considers how financial regulators themselves may need to adapt. As AI systems become more complex and influential, the FCA is exploring how regulatory frameworks, supervisory models and policy approaches may need to evolve to ensure that retail financial markets remain fair, transparent and resilient.
While wholesale markets and broader societal implications are formally outside the scope of the review, the FCA has acknowledged that developments in these areas could indirectly affect retail financial services. The regulator is already undertaking separate work on AI in wholesale markets, including through its live testing partnerships.
Feedback from industry stakeholders will inform a series of recommendations, which are expected to be presented to the FCA Board in summer 2026. These recommendations will guide how the regulator responds to AI-driven transformation and will ultimately be published externally to support firms, policymakers and consumers in navigating the next phase of digital change.
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