CCI Warns AI Could Create New Competition Risks in Digital Markets

Rapid adoption of artificial intelligence could create a fresh set of competition risks across digital

markets, Competition Commission of India chairperson Ravneet Kaur has warned. She said AI

could amplify practices already seen online, including self-preferencing, discriminatory pricing,

tying and market manipulation, while making market behaviour change at a much faster pace.

One area attracting particular attention is agentic AI — systems capable of making decisions

and taking actions with limited human intervention. As these tools become embedded in pricing,

recommendations and other commercial workflows, regulators face the challenge of determining

when automated decisions could result in anti-competitive behaviour.

The concerns build on the CCI’s market study on AI and competition, released in October 2025.

The study found that AI adoption was already reshaping competition dynamics and highlighted

issues such as algorithmic collusion, discriminatory pricing, higher entry barriers and reduced

transparency. Among surveyed competition concerns, AI-facilitated collusion was cited by 37%

of respondents and price discrimination by 32%.

The regulator has encouraged businesses to conduct self-audits of their AI systems for

competition compliance, particularly where algorithms influence pricing, access or customer

outcomes. It has also called for greater explainability and transparency without requiring

companies to disclose proprietary algorithms or commercially sensitive information.

Despite these concerns, the CCI is not signalling an immediate wave of AI-specific regulation.

Kaur indicated that the regulator does not intend to rush into regulating every new technology.

Instead, the emphasis is currently on stronger technical capabilities, industry workshops and

compliance awareness. As AI moves from assisting businesses to making more decisions

autonomously, the bigger question for regulators will be whether existing competition rules can

keep pace with increasingly automated digital markets.