What the CQC Says About AI in Social Care

On 21 May 2026, the Care Quality Commission published its first formal statement on AI, entitled Artificial Intelligence in Health and Social Care: CQC's Role, Expectations and Plans.

The document underlines one fundamental point, that there is no separate AI regulatory framework for adult social care providers. Instead, AI will be scrutinised through the existing regulatory framework and Fundamental Standards of care.

As England's independent regulator of health and social care, the CQC encourages the use of innovative technologies, including AI, where the technology benefits people and results in more effective and efficient services. However, AI presents enormous opportunities, though not without risks. The CQC has outlined some of the benefits and risks of AI and set out how its regulatory work has a role in ensuring AI contributes to safe, equitable and person-centred care.

The CQC emphasised that it does not approve individual AI products. Rather, its role is to ensure that technology contributes to safe, effective, equitable and person-centred care. The regulator's focus will therefore be on how providers select, implement, oversee and monitor AI systems.

Using AI to provide health and social care in line with the regulations means providers must follow a set of core principles. These are directly linked to existing regulations, including Regulation 12 (safe care and treatment) and Regulation 17 (good governance).

• AI to Support, Not Replace, Human Decision-Making - The CQC has made clear that AI should support human decision-making, not replace it. Providers remain accountable for decisions affecting people who use services, regardless of whether or not an AI tool was involved.
• Human Oversight - AI outputs and processes must be continuously monitored and evaluated. AI-generated recommendations, alerts, and outputs should be continuously monitored, evaluated, and validated by appropriately trained staff. Human oversight is essential to ensure accuracy and safety.
• Transparency and Choice - People who use services must have appropriate information to make informed decisions about their care, including the role of AI in care pathways. Non-digital routes to care are offered if needed, also considering digital skills and connectivity.
• Safety and Reliability - Providers must ensure that introducing and using AI provides safe care and equitable outcomes for people.
• Security and Data Protection - The technology must be resilient to cyber-attacks and sensitive information must be stored and processed securely to comply with the General Data Protection Regulation.
• Governance, Training and Accountability - Those using AI should be ‘sufficiently trained’ and confident in its use, effective governance should be in place, Data Protection Impact Assessments (DPIAs) should be used to assess risks to privacy and data, and clear mechanisms should be present to address harms or issues caused by AI.

In practice, the CQC's statement identifies a number of core principles that providers should be able to demonstrate, including human oversight and accountability, transparency about how AI is used, appropriate staff training and competence, effective governance and risk management, evidence of fairness and mitigation of bias, cyber security and data protection compliance, and systems for identifying, reporting and learning from AI-related incidents.

The CQC is not standing still. The CQC is currently working to develop and implement an updated regulatory model including new assessment frameworks, supported by operational processes and digital systems.

Following its consultation Better Regulation, Better Care, it published new draft sector-specific assessment frameworks in March 2026 (updated in May 2026) for further engagement and consultation.

References have been included in those draft frameworks where appropriate to encouraging innovative use of technology, including artificial intelligence, as part of ensuring people have timely access to care, treatment and support.

The CQC has aligned its principles with those published by other organisations such as the British Medical Association (BMA) and the World Health Organisation (WHO), and linked them back to the regulations it enforces.

The CQC's position sits within a broader regulatory landscape that is evolving rapidly.

The NHS AI and Digital Regulations Service, a joint initiative involving NICE, the MHRA, NHS England, and the Health Research Authority, provides guidance for both developers and adopters of AI and digital technology, covering what regulations to follow and how to evaluate effectiveness, whether you are building AI tools or buying and using them in health and social care.

The service maps out the regulatory and Health Technology Assessment (HTA) pathway for AI and digital technologies, helping users understand and navigate the pathway to support the development and widespread adoption of safe and effective technologies in health and social care.

On the device regulation side, the MHRA has published guidance on software and artificial intelligence as a medical device, and that guidance is evolving rapidly. What began as a framework document has become an active and expanding programme of reform, with significant new developments in 2025 and further regulatory changes expected throughout 2026.

The AI Airlock programme, launched in spring 2024, was the MHRA's first regulatory ‘sandbox’ for AI as a Medical Device.

In April 2026, the MHRA secured further funding up to 2029 to continue and expand the programme. Phase 2, which completed in May 2026, involved seven innovators, including AI-enabled ambient voice technology, cancer diagnostics, a genetic eye disease detection tool, and weight loss management technology.

Alongside the CQC's work, the UK Government has established a dedicated body to shape the future of AI regulation. The National Commission on the Regulation of AI in Healthcare was established to drive quicker adoption of AI across the NHS and healthcare sector, and will publish a regulatory rulebook on AI in healthcare.

The Commission brings together diverse expert voices representing technology, health, legal, patients and the public, and relevant government, NHS and arm's-length bodies. This group of thought leaders will tackle pressing challenges on the regulation of AI and advise the MHRA on the development of a new regulatory framework for AI in healthcare that is safe, fast, and trusted.

The work has brought together evidence from patients and the public, healthcare professionals, industry, academics and wider health system stakeholders through public polling, surveys, stakeholder engagement, deliberative research, an open Call for Evidence, a public Ask Me Anything session and insights from the MHRA's AI Airlock programme.

The CQC is represented on the Commission's Cross-Whitehall Working Group, chaired by the Chief Executive of the MHRA, alongside the Department for Health and Social Care. This cross-regulatory collaboration signals that AI governance in health and social care is being approached as a joined-up system, rather than in isolation.

For social care providers, the message from the CQC is clear and practical. The regulator is asking that AI be used in service of safe, person-centred care, with human oversight and proper governance throughout.

Providers who are considering or already using AI tools should take steps to ensure they can demonstrate compliance with the CQC's principles. Providers using, or intending to use, AI should consider developing a dedicated AI governance policy, maintaining an inventory of AI tools in use and completing risk assessments and data mapping or Data Protection Impact Assessments, where appropriate.

It is also worth noting that during inspections, the CQC looks at whether AI-integrated services meet safety, quality, and governance standards. The use of AI does not automatically lead to a better or worse inspection outcome, but what matters, however is how it is governed and applied.

How Access Evo and Access Care Compliance Can Help

Choosing the right technology partner can help with meeting the CQC's expectations.

Access Evo is purpose-built AI for social care and not a general-purpose tool repurposed for the sector, connecting your care software suite through a single sign-on, surfacing real-time insights and completing recurring tasks in the background, so your team can focus on the people they support.

The platform is designed to support human decision-making, keeping care professionals in control at every step, in line with the CQC's core principles. The Access Group is also an ISO 42001 accredited business, which demonstrates leadership in responsible and ethical AI governance, and providing the transparency and accountability that regulators expect.

Delivered through Access Evo is Access Care Compliance, giving providers a clear, real-time view of compliance across all services and locations. It enables teams to conduct audits, record and track action plans, and submit notifications directly to the CQC, with dashboards that make it straightforward to evidence the Five Key Questions and Fundamental Standards.

By identifying training gaps and compliance issues before they escalate, Access Care Compliance helps providers stay inspection-ready and demonstrate that AI is being used safely, accountably, and in the best interests of the people they support.

2026 marks an important moment for AI regulation in social care. The CQC has published its first formal position on AI, making clear that existing regulations already apply and that providers are accountable for how AI is selected, implemented, and monitored within their services.

The six core principles, maintaining human oversight, ensuring transparency and choice, guaranteeing safety and reliability, protecting data and security, and embedding effective governance, provide a practical framework for responsible AI adoption.

Alongside the CQC's updated assessment frameworks, the NHS AI and Digital Regulations Service, the MHRA's evolving guidance on AI as a medical device, and the National Commission's forthcoming regulatory rulebook, the answer is that AI in social care is welcome, provided it is safe, equitable, and person-centred.
For providers looking to adopt AI with confidence, Access Evo offers a secure, ISO 42001-accredited AI platform built specifically for care, designed to keep your team in control.

Paired with Access Care Compliance, which provides real-time audit management, action tracking, and CQC notification tools across all your locations, providers have a practical, governance-ready foundation for meeting the CQC's expectations, now and as the regulatory landscape continues to evolve. Click here to find out more about how Access Evo can support your care organisation.