Ravneet Kaur, chairperson of the Competition Commission of India, cautions that AI’s accelerated integration in digital markets may amplify risks such as discriminatory pricing, self-preferencing, and market manipulation, requiring vigilant regulatory oversight.
- AI could worsen existing anti-competitive market practices.
- CCI urges transparency and AI self-audits for companies.
- Focus on agentic AI’s autonomous decision-making risks.
What happened
Ravneet Kaur, chairperson of the Competition Commission of India (CCI), recently addressed rising concerns that AI adoption may intensify anti-competitive practices in India’s digital markets. Speaking at a national law student training event, she discussed risks such as self-preferencing, discriminatory pricing, tying, and market manipulation exacerbated by the rapid integration of AI technologies.
The CCI’s October 2025 report on AI and competition highlighted how agentic AI—AI systems capable of autonomous decision-making—could reshape market dynamics and enable novel anti-competitive conduct. The regulator is encouraging enterprises to carry out self-audits of their AI systems to ensure they comply with competition laws and are transparent enough to prevent market distortions.
Why it matters
India’s digital markets are evolving at an unprecedented pace, with AI accelerating change beyond traditional competition concerns. The CCI’s warnings underline the potential for AI to amplify existing market power abuses or introduce new forms of exclusionary behavior through automated decisions made without human oversight.
This situation places pressure on regulators to adapt and develop frameworks that promote innovation while safeguarding fair competition. The CCI’s call for increased transparency and explainability in AI systems aims to reduce information asymmetry and empower regulators and stakeholders to detect and address anti-competitive risks before they entrench themselves.
What to watch next
The CCI plans to conduct focused workshops to help businesses understand how competition law applies to AI and the compliance measures necessary to mitigate risks. These educational efforts will be critical as enterprises navigate AI adoption, balancing innovation with legal responsibilities in India’s fast-changing digital ecosystem.
Additionally, conversations around open-source AI models are shifting from cost concerns to risk management, especially regarding dependencies on proprietary models and potential disruptions. How Indian enterprises and the CCI engage with these evolving AI governance challenges will significantly impact the competitive landscape in digital markets.