The Federal Trade Commission is widening scrutiny of the artificial-intelligence industry, putting OpenAI, Anthropic and other frontier laboratories under examination as regulators weigh how emerging systems could affect consumers.

The inquiry is centered on safety rather than a single alleged violation. The FTC is examining “the risks their technologies pose to consumers,” according to a federal official cited by the Washington Examiner.¹ That framing places the investigation within the agency’s broader consumer-protection mandate, while also highlighting the unusual challenge of regulating rapidly evolving technologies before their risks are fully understood.

The companies named in the inquiry represent some of the most prominent developers of advanced AI systems. The reported scope also extends beyond commercial labs: the AI safety research organization METR may be asked to provide information, alongside OpenAI and Anthropic.¹

The likely next step is an information-gathering campaign. The FTC is expected to issue demands for information and compel testimony from executives at leading AI companies, according to the report.¹ Such demands would give regulators a closer look at how the companies assess safety, communicate potential harms and respond to risks affecting users.

The available account offers no response from the companies or METR, leaving the central contrast unresolved: regulators are approaching AI through the lens of possible consumer harm, while the subjects of the inquiry have yet to publicly explain how they view the investigation or its demands. For now, the FTC’s move signals that frontier AI development is increasingly being treated as a consumer-safety issue, not solely a technological or commercial one.