Jurisdiction(s):
European Union

EU consumer law and AI chatbots: human contact and intervention, transparency, rankings, accessibility, GDPR and liability

Published on: 11 June 2025

Published by a LexisNexis EU Law expert

Legal News

Article summary

AI chatbots are reshaping how companies manage customer enquiries and grievances, delivering speed and round-the-clock access that many conventional routes cannot rival. Yet the European Commission’s recent Digital Fairness Act Fitness Check has exposed a shortfall: EU consumers currently do not enjoy a cross-sector right to insist on human interaction when dealing with AI chatbots in business-to-consumer contexts. It remains uncertain whether, and in what way, the Commission intends to tackle this. The forthcoming EU Digital Fairness Act might address it, but the Commission’s draft is not expected until the third quarter of 2026. This note sets out core consumer protection issues for businesses rolling out AI chatbots in the EU market.

AI Chatbots cannot be the only contact channel

Under EU rules—most notably Directive 2011/83/EU, the EU Consumer Rights Directive, and Council Directive 2000/31/EC, the eCommerce Directive—consumers must be offered established means of communication, including the trader’s postal address, telephone number, and email. The Court of Justice of the EU has confirmed that consumers must be able to reach traders directly, swiftly, and effectively (Case C-649/17). Chatbots may support these interactions, but they cannot supplant obligatory human contact routes...

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