'AI Washing' Warning: UK Companies Misrepresenting Basic Automation as AI, Creating Regulatory and Professional Liability Risk

UK companies are systematically overstating the sophistication of their technology products by labelling standard automation tools as artificial intelligence, a practice communications professionals and PR executives are calling 'AI washing'. Public relations practitioners working across London and global agencies report that bosses in low-tech industries are increasingly demanding their products be pitched to journalists and investors as AI-powered, regardless of whether genuine machine learning or generative AI is involved. The phenomenon is commercially widespread: examples cited include a property company marketing a handheld building scanner as an AI product, shoe and genetics companies claiming AI-driven capabilities, and marketing teams inserting AI references into product names without underlying substance. One account director estimated that approximately 50% of AI-related press releases they are asked to distribute misrepresent the underlying technology. For commercial lawyers, the legal risk embedded in AI washing is significant and multi-dimensional. In the consumer and financial products context, falsely representing a product as AI-driven could constitute a misleading commercial practice under the Consumer Protection from Unfair Trading Regulations 2008 or, for listed companies making AI capability claims to the market, a market abuse risk under UK MAR (UK Market Abuse Regulation). Companies implementing AI washing strategies in investor-facing materials also face exposure under the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000 for misleading statements. The FCA has signalled increasing focus on AI-related marketing claims, and the AI washing trend is a direct precursor to enforcement action.