London, January 27, 2026 — The UK Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has launched a forward-looking review to examine how advances in artificial intelligence could reshape retail financial services, affect competition and market structure, and influence consumer outcomes in the years ahead.
The review, known as the Mills Review, will be led by Sheldon Mills and builds on the FCA’s existing work on artificial intelligence, including its AI Discussion Paper, AI Sprint and AI Lab initiatives, as well as live testing and its Supercharged Sandbox supported by NVIDIA.
Focus on Consumers, Markets, and Competition
According to the FCA, artificial intelligence is already embedded across financial services, but rapid progress in generative, agentic, and emerging forms of AI could bring more profound changes. These developments have the potential to alter how firms compete, how markets function, and how consumers engage with retail financial services.
Sheldon Mills said the review would take a long-term perspective, looking towards 2030 and beyond, to assess how emerging uses of AI could influence consumers, firms, and markets. The review aims to help the FCA continue supporting innovation while promoting the safe and trusted adoption of AI in retail finance.
Four Key Themes
The FCA is seeking stakeholder views on four interrelated themes. These include how AI may evolve, particularly with more autonomous and agentic systems, and how such developments could affect market structure, competition, and the UK’s competitiveness.
The review will also consider the impact of AI on consumers, including how consumer expectations may change and how consumers themselves could influence financial markets through their interaction with AI-driven services. In addition, it will examine how financial regulators may need to evolve to ensure retail financial markets continue to function effectively.
Wholesale markets and broader societal impacts are formally outside the scope of the review, although the FCA noted that developments in those areas may be considered where they indirectly affect retail financial services.
Next Steps
Feedback gathered through the review will inform a set of recommendations to be reported to the FCA Board in summer 2026. These recommendations will guide how the regulator responds to AI-driven transformation and will culminate in an external publication.
The deadline for comments is February 24, 2026.
