Christoph Busch's 2025 paper asks whether European Union consumer law is ready for the rise of AI agents that shop, compare, and contract on behalf of consumers. This video explains Busch's core argument: the move from human-centered online shopping to the "Custobot Economy" forces consumer law to rethink information duties, manipulation rules, average-consumer standards, and the timing of legal protection itself.

Source:

Christoph Busch, "Consumer Law for AI Agents" (Yale University, 2025).

Topics covered:

- generative AI vs. agentic AI

- Custobots and the shift to agent-to-agent commerce

- SEO vs. AI Agent Optimization (AAO)

- the limits of human-centric consumer law

- the "Average Custobot" problem

- machine-readable disclosures and decentralized personalization

- choice engines and paternalism

- dark patterns, adversarial attacks, and prompt injection

- the three future pillars of consumer law for AI agents

- legal recognition, the no-barrier principle, and design-based protection

This content is provided for informational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice. You are responsible for how you use this information and should seek qualified advice for specific matters.