EU Draft Would Require Fresh Consent for Incentivized AI Shopping Agents

A leaked draft of the EU Digital Fairness Act would permit consumers to delegate purchases to AI shopping agents but would require fresh consent when the agent provider is paid to propose a specific contract or has a conflict of interest with a merchant.

The draft ties agent autonomy directly to transparent permissions and commercial incentives. A consumer could authorize an agent to act on their behalf, but that authorization would not extend to situations where the provider receives compensation to steer the consumer toward a particular product or service. In those cases, the agent would need to obtain a new, specific approval before proceeding.

The design links the scope of an agent’s authority to the financial relationships behind its recommendations. The requirement applies across sectors where automated purchasing decisions intersect with incentivized offers, including finance, insurance, healthcare, real estate, legal services, and marketing.