The Financial Conduct Authority has published what it describes as the world's first regulator-led review of AI in retail financial services, setting out a seven-point roadmap to help regulators, government and industry prepare for increasingly autonomous AI.

Led by FCA executive director Sheldon Mills, The Mills Review identifies four major AI-driven shifts expected to affect retail financial services: transforming firms' operations, changing consumer journeys, reshaping competition and market power, and amplifying fraud and cyber risks.

Research commissioned for the review found that 20% of consumers, equivalent to around 11 million adults in the UK, would be likely to use AI capable of acting autonomously within pre-set goals. At the same time, the survey also found concerns around trust and maintaining control.

In addition to flagging the clear fraud and cyber security risks of AI, the report highlights potential consumer harm and market concentration risks.

Sheldon Mills, executive director at the FCA, said: “Artificial intelligence will transform financial services by 2030. It creates significant opportunities for consumers, firms and the wider economy. This report sets out a roadmap for how industry regulators and government can prepare for the next phase of AI-driven change in our world-leading financial services sector.”

The review recommends adapting the regulatory perimeter, strengthening system-wide oversight and preparing regulatory frameworks for more autonomous AI models. It also calls for an expanded FCA AI Lab, the development of AI-enabled supervision and the foundations for agentic finance.

The review builds on the FCA's wider AI programme, including its AI Lab and live testing initiatives. The regulator also plans to publish guidance on good and poor AI practice later this year.


Read the review in full here: https://www.fca.org.uk/publications/corporate-documents/mills-review

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