A review of the artificial intelligence (AI) market has been launched by the UK competition watchdog.

Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) chief executive Sarah Cardell told the Financial Times its “fact-finding” mission would inform on the “real opportunities” but also the protections that could be needed.

The probe would include the models behind popular chatbots such as ChatGPT, she said.

AI is attracting increasing scrutiny as rapid development raises fears of many threats including to privacy and jobs.

The future of coursework within exams is under pressure through so-called generative AI.

The CMA spoke up just days after the US Federal Trade Commission warned this week it was “focusing intensely” on how such technology is being developed and used.

The week also saw the so-called godfather of AI, Geoffrey Hinton, speak out against the tech he helped create and the threat it could pose to humanity after leaving his role at Google.

For its part, the CMA has shown it is not afraid to stand up to big tech firms.

It attracted a backlash last week from Microsoft when it decided to block the company’s $75bn takeover of the games publisher Activision Blizzard.