Artificial Intelligence in Consumer Rights Protection: New Opportunities and Legal Challenges

Abstract

The incorporation of artificial intelligence (AI) into consumer markets initiates a genuine paradigmatic shift, revealing a tense dialectic between the empowerment of consumers and the emergence of unprecedented legal and ethical threats. The aim of the article is to provide a systematized analysis of this duality, covering both the positive effects of AI deployment (hyperpersonalization, preventive anti-fraud measures, online dispute resolution) and the risks inherent in the technology—algorithmic bias, manipulative practices, and the undermining of decisional autonomy. The methodological framework relies on a systematic review of scholarly and regulatory literature and a comparative legal analysis of key European Union instruments—the Artificial Intelligence Act (EU AI Act) and the new Product Liability Directive (PLD). The findings indicate that AI provides transformative tools for enhancing the efficiency and accessibility of consumer protection mechanisms; at the same time, the very same technological capabilities generate systemic risks of nonobjectivity and dilute the informed nature of decision making. The new European regulation establishes an advanced risk-based architecture, rethinking the allocation of responsibility and imposing preventive obligations on providers of AI systems, while simultaneously complicating enforcement. In conclusion, the paper substantiates the need for a balanced course that combines technological safeguards, proactive regulatory oversight, and the development of consumer digital literacy for the harmonious development of the digital economy. The presented conclusions are addressed to legal scholars, regulators, developers, and compliance professionals involved in AI governance.