FTC keeps pressure on misleading AI claims

Nearly two years after the FTC launched “Operation AI Comply” in September 2024, enforcement against misleading AI claims has continued and intensified. The agency has targeted AI washing, including companies that allegedly exaggerated or fabricated AI capabilities, and FTC Chairman Andrew Ferguson described the approach in April 2026 testimony as supporting innovation by pursuing deceptive actors.

Recent FTC activity has expanded beyond consumer-facing claims to business-to-business marketing, signaling that substantiation and deception standards apply even when AI products are sold to enterprise clients. The agency has also used the “means and instrumentalities” doctrine to pursue vendors that allegedly supplied deceptive marketing materials, sales pitches or customer-response tools to downstream sellers.

The SEC has treated AI washing as an investor-protection issue, beginning with enforcement actions in 2024 against investment advisers accused of misrepresenting their AI use. In 2025, the agency identified accurate and transparent technology disclosures as an enforcement focus, while public companies have also faced securities class actions tied to AI washing theories.

Self-regulatory scrutiny has grown as well, with the BBB National Advertising Division challenging premature availability claims, misleading product demonstrations and unsupported productivity or efficiency statements. Companies marketing AI products are advised to review claims across sales materials, filings and public statements, distinguish future plans from current capabilities, document substantiation and monitor evolving enforcement priorities.