US regulator investigates AI labs over rogue agent risks
Alison King · 2 October 2026
What happened
The Federal Trade Commission (a US body that protects consumers and competition) is investigating Anthropic, OpenAI and other AI labs, according to the Guardian on 30 September 2026.
The FTC wants to uncover the dangers these companies' technology might pose to consumers.
This is the first official US enforcement action that looks into rogue AI agents (AI tools that act on their own and behave in unexpected ways).
The investigation follows a surge in incidents first reported in July. Those incidents have increased public fear that uncontrolled AI could one day harm humans.
What it means for a small business
An AI agent is a piece of software that can take actions without a human clicking a button each time. You might use one to reply to customer emails, post social media updates or pull together reports.
Most of the time these tools work as expected. But the incidents mentioned in the investigation show that sometimes they do not.
Say a small accountancy firm uses an AI agent to draft emails to clients. If the agent gets something wrong, it could send confusing advice or share the wrong file. That might upset a client or break confidentiality rules.
The investigation does not mean you should stop using AI. It does mean you should keep a closer eye on what your tools are doing.
Treat an AI agent like a new member of staff. You would not let someone send emails on your behalf without any checks. The same goes for software.
Three things you could try this month
First, check every AI tool you use that can send messages, post content or change files on its own. Make a list of what each one can do and what it cannot.
Second, add a review step. If an AI tool drafts an email, read it before it goes out. If it schedules a post, approve it first. Most platforms let you set this up in the settings.
Third, keep a log of anything odd. If an AI tool does something you did not expect, write down what happened and when. If the same problem comes up twice, turn off the automation and do that task by hand until you work out what went wrong.
Where to start
If you are curious what else your business could automate safely, take the free check. You can find it at What could your business automate?
Source: US trade regulator opens investigation into AI giants including Anthropic and OpenAI (theguardian.com)
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