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Do I have to tell customers I use AI?
Short answer
Not always. UK law doesn't require you to label every AI-drafted email. You do need to be open when AI processes customers' personal data (your privacy notice), when it makes significant decisions about people, and whenever leaving it out would mislead, such as AI-generated photos presented as your own work or an AI receptionist pretending to be a person.
When you should tell people
- AI uses their personal data. UK GDPR requires transparency. If an AI tool processes customer details (call recordings, enquiry summaries), say so in your privacy notice and name the type of provider.
- AI makes significant decisions about them. If a decision with legal or similarly significant effects is made solely by automated means, UK GDPR gives people rights, including human review. Keep a person in the loop.
- It would otherwise mislead. Consumer law bans misleading practices. Showing AI-generated "before and after" photos as real jobs, or AI-written fake reviews, can break the law. Fake reviews are banned under the Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Act 2024.
- Calls and chat. If an AI receptionist answers your phone, a simple opening line ("You're through to the virtual assistant for...") avoids misleading anyone and makes call-recording notices easier.
- You serve EU customers. The EU AI Act's transparency rules (from 2 August 2026) require people to be told when they're interacting with an AI system in many cases, and deepfakes to be labelled.
When it's optional
Using AI to draft a quote, tidy an email or suggest a social post that you check and send yourself doesn't need a label. You're the author; the AI is a tool, like a spellchecker.
A simple line for your privacy notice
We use carefully selected software, including AI tools, to help us answer enquiries and draft messages. We don't use AI to make decisions about you without a person reviewing them. [Provider names] process data for us under contract.
Adapt it to what you actually do, and keep it true.
Related questions
Do I need to say a blog post was written with AI?
Not by law in most cases. Google says AI disclosures are useful where readers would reasonably expect them. See does AI-written content rank on Google?
Can an AI receptionist pretend to be a person?
Don't. It risks misleading callers, and callers who feel tricked tend to leave bad reviews.
Sources
- ICO: guidance on AI and data protection
- EU: quick facts on AI Act transparency rules
- Google Search guidance about AI-generated content
Checked 17 October 2026. Rules and prices change, so check the source before you rely on it. This is general information, not legal, tax or financial advice.
More on uk law, tax and hmrc
- Can AI images be illegal in the UK?
- Can ChatGPT do my tax return?
- Can ChatGPT write a contract?
- Does HMRC use AI?
- How can solicitors use AI in the UK?
- Is AI regulated in the UK?
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