AI-POWERED internet searches are putting households are greater risk from cowboy builders despite increased scrutiny from the competition watchdog, the boss of Checkatrade has warned.

In April the Competition & Markets Authority (CMA) set out new guidelines to ensure that websites and apps that help people to find and connect with traders were adequately vetting the traders they list.

They require platforms to verify reviews, disclose commercial relationships and vet the tradespeople they list.

“The CMA has worked very hard to scrutinise the market, but AI is quietly undoing a lot of that work by scalping from sites that are not compliant with their requirements,” chief executive Jambu Palaniappan warned. 

Checkatrade’s data shows about 11 per cent of consumers have said they use AI search services for finding tradespeople.

But it has blocked hundreds of cowboy traders from listing on its platform and uses AI systems itself to help detect fake reviews.