( June 17, 2026, 04:32 GMT | Official Statement) -- MLex Summary: Andrew Leigh, assistant minister for Productivity, Competition, Charities and Treasury, on Wednesday said AI agents are systems that search, recommend, price and purchase on behalf of users, potentially reducing search costs and helping smaller companies reach customers. However, Leigh's address to the New South Wales branch of the Economic Society of Australia identified four competition risks in agent‑mediated markets: hidden steering, personalized pricing, agent gaming and tacit algorithmic coordination, alongside existing concentration risks in chips, data, network effects, talent and ecosystems. He says that competition policy should address these issues using tools such as audit trails and “machine shoppers," and be guided by four principles: loyalty, contestability, verifiability and responsibility.Speech follows....
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