Artificial intelligence is increasingly being used by fantasy football players looking to gain an advantage, but its growing presence in the game has prompted debate over whether technology enhances or undermines the experience.
Fantasy football has long appealed to fans who believe they could outperform real-life managers, offering players the chance to build squads, track statistics, and compete against friends, colleagues, or strangers. That appeal has helped turn the pastime into a global phenomenon, supported by an expanding ecosystem of podcasts, social media accounts, and data-driven tools offering advice and predictions.
The UK’s most popular competition, Fantasy Premier League, says it has more than 11 million players. Participants select squads of 15 footballers within a £100m budget, earning points based on real-world performances while navigating price changes and limits on how many players they can choose from each club.
Content Creators And AI-Assisted Advice
Ryan Jordan, a content creator with around 15,000 followers on TikTok, said fantasy football makes matches more engaging, even those involving teams he might not normally watch. The Bristol City supporter said having players spread across different clubs gives every game added significance.
Jordan told BBC Newsbeat he uses Fantasy Football Hub, an app that offers AI-driven tools to assess squads, suggest transfers, predict weekly points, and advise when players should start or sit on the bench.
Fantasy Football Hub founder Will Thomas said the platform has attracted about 793,000 members since launching in 2019. Around 59,000 users currently pay for access to AI features. Of those, roughly 28,000 subscribed in 2025, while about 381,000 users joined the service as free members.
Another app, Fantasy Football Fix, said its user base has also grown, reaching around 690,000 members, up from about 500,000 in 2022. The company said interest has been driven in part by an AI-powered chatbot trained specifically on Fantasy Premier League data.
BBC Newsbeat understands the Premier League plans to add AI-based features to its official Companion app later this season, using Microsoft’s Copilot technology to help users make decisions about teams and strategy.
Questions Over Accuracy And Fairness
Some players question whether AI tools deliver insights that cannot be found elsewhere. In online forums, critics argue subscription services often recycle publicly available statistics while reducing the role of instinct and chance that many see as central to the game’s appeal.
Jordan said he generally finds AI recommendations useful, though not infallible. He said some suggested picks appear questionable, but he views AI tools as similar to advice from podcasts or YouTube channels. He said players should use whatever methods they enjoy and does not believe AI replaces skill.
A survey published by Virgin Media O2 in August found that about two-thirds of Fantasy Premier League players who responded planned to use AI tools this season. At the same time, many said it reduced enjoyment or amounted to cheating.
Those concerns were echoed by some supporters Newsbeat spoke to outside a Premier League match in Birmingham. Jake Thomas O’Donnell, an Aston Villa fan and long-time fantasy player, said AI use weakens the social side of the game. He said relying on automated advice removes personal judgment and the banter that comes with it.
Others said they were indifferent or unaware that AI tools were being used by fellow players.
Wider Use Across Fantasy Games
AI use is not limited to men’s football. Dani Gonçalves, co-creator of Aerial Fantasy, an unofficial fantasy game for the Women’s Super League, said she sees little difference between following AI advice and listening to a human expert. The game launched the 2025–26 season with more than 30,000 users.
Gonçalves acknowledged the risk that widespread use of similar data could lead to near-identical teams. She said fantasy platforms can counter this by rewarding creative picks. Aerial Fantasy, for example, offers bonus points for selecting less popular players.
She added that AI can also deepen engagement for players who enjoy analysing data. By speeding up research, she said, AI may help some users spend more time refining strategies rather than making random selections.
Featured image credits: Roboflow Universe
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