Are Chatbots Secretly Hustling You? The FTC Thinks So!

Sep 28, 2025

The FTC's new luring test exposes when AI might manipulate rather than help. Discover examples of deceptive chatbots, like bot lawyers making false claims and e-commerce scams generating fake reviews. Learn how automation bias and anthropomorphism enable AI to mislead users, and hear about the FTC's crackdown on misleading practices. Professor Giffard offers handy checks for spotting luring tactics and emphasizes the importance of transparency in AI. Tune in for insights to protect yourself from manipulative tech!

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INSIGHT

What The Luring Test Actually Asks

The FTC's luring test asks whether an AI is engineered to earn trust then nudge choices that benefit the maker more than the user.
If people cannot reasonably avoid the shove, the behaviour may be unlawful under the FTC Act.

INSIGHT

Legal Backbone Of Enforcement

The FTC can act on deception and unfairness: misleading claims or practices causing substantial, unavoidable harm.
Benefits that don't outweigh harms leave companies legally exposed under existing law.

INSIGHT

Why AI Persuasion Scales Fast

Three multipliers make AI a powerful lure: automation bias, anthropomorphism, and scale.
Confident bot language and human-like traits amplify trust and can mislead at massive scale.

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When does AI stop helping and start hustling you? In this episode of A Beginner’s Guide to AI, Professor Gephardt unpacks the FTC’s new “Luring Test”—a standard that exposes how algorithms can manipulate trust, exploit psychological shortcuts, and push people into harmful choices. From robot lawyers that weren’t really lawyers to AI tools generating fake reviews and e-commerce empires built on empty promises, we explore how regulators are cracking down on deceptive AI practices and dark patterns in AI design.

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As the FTC’s Operation AI Comply shows, slapping “AI-powered” on a product doesn’t give anyone a free pass to hype or mislead. The real challenge is drawing the line between AI personalisation and AI manipulation.

Key thought to keep in mind: “If an AI assistant would give a different recommendation were it truly acting in the user’s best interest—and the only reason it doesn’t is your revenue model—you’re not personalising; you’re luring.”

Whether you’re a marketer, entrepreneur, or curious listener, this episode will sharpen your eye for spotting when AI is serving you—and when it’s working you over.

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Music credit: "Modern Situations" by Unicorn Heads