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India’s Competition Regulator Warns of AI-Driven Market Risks

By  |  May 20, 2026
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The Competition Commission of India (CCI) has raised concerns over the increasing use of artificial intelligence across industries, cautioning that the growing sophistication of AI systems is making it harder for regulators to identify and prove anti-competitive conduct in markets.

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    Speaking at the CCI’s 17th anniversary event on Wednesday, CCI chairperson Ravneet Kaur said the rapid expansion of AI technologies is transforming sectors such as logistics, healthcare, education, agriculture, transportation and supply chains. However, according to a statement made during the event, the technology also presents new regulatory challenges linked to market concentration and unfair business practices.

    “There is a rapid adoption of AI in various spheres of the economy – whether it is logistics, healthcare, education, agriculture, transportation, supply chain. There could be (instances of) ecosystem lock-ins, self-preferencing and algorithmic collusion. The AI systems which are being used are opaque. So that makes it difficult to detect what actually is happening in various cases,” she said.

    Kaur noted that while AI adoption is driving efficiencies, innovation and improved consumer experiences, concerns are emerging over the concentration of market power at different stages of the AI value chain. Per statement, the opacity of AI systems makes it increasingly difficult for regulators to assess whether businesses are engaging in anti-competitive conduct.

    Read more: SEC Pushes Tech-Driven Regulatory Overhaul to Modernize Public Markets

    Industry experts said the remarks come amid growing scrutiny of AI systems that influence pricing, rankings, recommendations and market access in digital ecosystems.

    Pranjal Prateek, partner at Khaitan & Co, said the CCI is expected to closely monitor concentration risks across the AI ecosystem.

    “As the CCI’s own market study examined, the CCI will remain focussed on examining whether concentration across the AI stack, including compute infrastructure, data, cloud services and foundational models, could create risks of foreclosure and self-preferencing. The need of the hour is engagement between regulators, industry and technical experts, coupled with greater transparency, auditability and compliance-by-design measures from AI developers and deployers,” he said.

    Experts added that regulators worldwide are increasingly examining how dominant firms may use AI-driven systems to reinforce market advantages, particularly in digital markets where algorithms play a significant role in shaping consumer choices and competition dynamics.

    Source: Financial Express