Regulators are asking what AI means for customers, providers and consumer protection
Ofcom is consulting on how artificial intelligence in communications could impact the broadband and mobile customer experience.
Regulators are examining areas where AI is already being used, particularly in customer interactions, and the potential benefits and risks for consumers.
The findings could inform whether existing telecommunications rules remain sufficient as providers deploy AI more widely.
Source: Ofcom
AI consulting
The title of Ofcom’s consultation, published on 27 January 2026, is: “Understanding how people and businesses can benefit from AI in the communications market.”we will accept responses until March 10, 2026.
The consultation will focus on three key questions:
- How AI tools are being used in the telecom industryand how it will impact the experience of businesses and individual customers, now and at various stages in the future.
- Opportunities and risks that AI brings to customersthese tools have become more sophisticated and more widely used.
- Will existing rules still work or need to be changed?supporting innovation while protecting consumers.
Ofcom said the review looked at the use of customer-facing AI across areas such as sales, customer support, account management and complaint handling, rather than back-end applications such as network optimization and security.
Coverage includes both individual customers and business customers, including small businesses.
Regulatory protection
Regulators say artificial intelligence could change the way customers interact with broadband and mobile providers at multiple stages, from selecting services to receiving support and resolving issues.
Ofcom points to potential benefits as AI becomes more widespread, including faster customer service, improved fault diagnosis, increased accessibility and more personalized assistance.
At the same time, regulators are warning of the risks of AI systems making decisions that affect or impact customers.
These include reduced transparency when people interact with automated systems, difficulty understanding how decisions are made, and challenges in challenging results or escalating complaints. These issues are among a wide range of issues that Ofcom has been considering in relation to the oversight of AI across the sectors it regulates.
The telecoms consultation also draws on Ofcom’s published strategic approach to artificial intelligence, setting out how the regulator intends to apply its oversight in practice while supporting innovation and managing consumer risk.
Among its approaches, regulators say they want to understand whether existing protections will continue to work as AI is more widely adopted in customer-facing services.
AI accountability
A central question in this consultation is how the cost and efficiency improvements promised by AI are balanced against the responsibilities that telecommunications providers have towards their customers, and how those responsibilities should be defined as automation increases.
Ofcom cited applications such as automating routine documents, introducing chatbots into customer service, and analyzing consumer feedback and demand patterns as areas where AI has the potential to improve productivity across the communications market, and the increasing incorporation of these tools raises broader questions about workforce change.
These efficiency gains are already visible in the communications sector. BT Group has introduced AI-powered customer support tools, while EE says its virtual assistants handle tens of thousands of customer conversations each week.
Virgin Media O2 has deployed tools such as Lumi AI to support agents with personalized assistance and call summaries, and has linked these systems to reduced customer complaints.
Vodafone has worked with Microsoft to develop the TOBi digital assistant as part of a broader effort to automate customer interactions.
In addition to this, providers have continued to invest in specialist human support, including dedicated teams and additional training, for customers with complex or vulnerable needs.
This combination suggests that AI is being used to absorb volume and day-to-day demands, rather than completely replacing human support, while still relying on humans for more complex decision-making, clarification, and escalation.
However, the consultation highlights that communications rules still do not clearly delineate the boundaries of what AI systems should and should not be responsible for.
The focus of the review is therefore whether existing protections will remain effective as AI takes on a greater role in customer-facing services, and how responsibility should be defined when outcomes are shaped by automated systems rather than individual agents.
